Best Kept Secret
by MoonStarDutchess
Summary: What if Roy and Riza were secretly married through the entire series? This story tells you that. Mixes manga, anime, and original content. Royai - Note: Earlier chapters undergoing a slight rewrite and content edit (No plot change).
1. Meeting the Elrics

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 1: Meeting the Elrics**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own my idea.**

**AN: This is rated M within site standards.  
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**Meeting the Elrics**

Automobiles were a rare sight to see in the rural area called Risembool. If one were to come here from one of the more populated cities such as Central or East city, then they would feel like they'd journeyed back into time. For Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang this was quite an inconvenience, but if the rumors he heard were true, then it would be well worth the trouble.

The lack of automobiles was why he and his chief aid, Second Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, were currently riding in an old wagon driven by an old military policeman. A few pieces of hay still littered the back of the wagon but it was clean for the most part. However, that didn't make the ride more comfortable. His ass currently felt like it found an actual needle in a haystack.

He looked over at his lieutenant to see if there were any signs of discomfort on her face. As suspected, if she was in any pain whatsoever, she certainly wasn't showing it. She was looking at her surroundings, ever vigilant, looking for any threats that may come upon them. He had no doubt that she was thinking up places where those threats could possibly hide, or escape routes just in case something _were to_ happen. She was always concerned about his safety. Though he never asked her to be anything but a chief aide, she'd taken it upon herself to become his bodyguard as well.

He gazed at her face for a bit longer before letting his eyes trail up and down her uniform clad body. He then tore his eyes away from her, looked at the bales of hay that were stacked in the farmyards, then back at her. He suddenly wanted to put a literal meaning to the saying, "a roll in the hay." Of course, she would have none of that, despite their relationship status.

They suddenly hit a bump in the road and he caught a glimpse of the golden chain that she wore with her dog tags. He grinned inwardly when he thought about what was hanging from the chain: her wedding rings.

During the end of the Ishbalian war, they got married. He'd promised her father a few years previously that he would take care of her. Roy didn't think this was exactly what her father had in mind, but he was sure her father would have approved of their marriage. However, that promise wasn't the only reason they married. The fact of the matter was that he'd fallen in love with her and could never see anyone in the same light as he saw Riza. There was no one else in the world that understood and accepted him the way she did, not even his best friend Maes Hughes.

His ladies man status was highly exaggerated. While he did go on dates with women, it was only to disguise the fact he and Riza were married. Women bragged to each other about sleeping with him. To make them look like they'd accomplished some sort of goal. In all actually, during those dates, there were no kissing, no hugging; not even holding hands. He just let the girls hang onto his arm and that seemed to be enough for them.

Most of the women were information drops, they intentionally spread the rumors about him to increase his reputation as well, and they knew about his preference for "Elizabeth." It also helped that girls often dumped their men so they could ask him out. To which he would politely decline most of the time, instead choosing that time to spend with the woman across from him.

He almost jumped when Riza turned her gaze toward him and narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, something that no one other than him would really notice. "What are you staring at sir?" she questioned.

He grinned and started to reply with some witty retort that he had prepared, but the old soldier driving the wagon spoke to him.

"So what brings you here to Risembool and the Elric's house Lt. Colonel Mustang?"

Roy turned to the driver slightly. "I've heard reports about them. They said that the Elrics were gifted in alchemy so I came to meet them and see for myself." Roy grinned at Riza who smiled softly at him. If the Elrics lived up to the rumors and he recruited them, then it meant a promotion possibility for discovering them. That meant he was a step closer to becoming fuehrer and closer to being able to let the world know about their relationship.

"Scouting for new state alchemists?"

"Yes, since the civil war we need all the recruits that we can get," he replied. "Many people are afraid of signing up because of a risk of going to war. So we have to come to them and do a bit of convincing."

"I can't wait to see the looks on those kids' faces when they find out that a Lieutenant Colonel wants to see them."

Roy's posture stiffened and his palms began to sweat slightly. He hoped that he misheard that last statement. "Kids? Did you say kids?" he questioned.

"Yes sir," the soldier said. Roy turned toward Riza, and then took the report out of his inner coat pocket. He looked down at it and read the report aloud. "Risembool Village, Edward Elric, thirty one years old."

"No sir, Edward Elric is eleven; his brother Alphonse is a year younger."

Roy held the paper closer to his face and squinted. Then he started turning the paper in different directions.

"Sir, I doubt the words are going to magically change just from holding it differently," Riza remarked. He looked at her, coughed to clear his throat, and then questioned her in an authoritative manner.

"What is the meaning of this Lieutenant?" Her eyes narrowed and she looked at him sternly. Why did he expect her to know all the answers? She wasn't the one that insisted they come on this trip based on a rumor.

"It would appear that the document came through some kind of time warp and managed to get into your hands," she remarked. "Perhaps it was an alchemy accident and that piece of paper has transcended time." The military policeman chuckled a bit at her comment. Roy narrowed his eyes and when did Riza become such a sarcastic human being? "Or someone made a huge error," she then offered a proper explanation.

Roy sighed, "A huge error indeed, damn. Eleven? Are you sure about that?" he asked the driver.

"Yes sir, I've known the boys for a while," he replied.

"Shit," Roy muttered. This wasn't his lucky…year.

**(-)**

The rest of the wagon ride was silent. Riza took the time to continue to gaze at her surroundings while Roy just stared at the report in his hands. When the wagon stopped, he stuck the report back into his inner jacket pocket.

Roy jumped down from the wagon and held out both of his arms toward Riza to help her down. She placed both of her hands on his shoulders as his hands gripped her waist, a bit lower than proper, and he helped her down. He then muttered something to her in a low tone that only she could hear.

'We should ride wagons more often; I like helping you down."

"Hush," she whispered, pulling away from him.

The three made their way up to a homely two-story house. The roses blooming along the porch banisters and the bright colors of the house made it seem very welcoming. Despite the lovely appearance, Roy felt very uneasy about entering the home.

They all walked up to the door and Roy knocked. The door swung open slightly in an eerie manner and Roy pushed it open further, revealing a horrible mess. There were papers scattered everywhere, glass shards littered the floor where jars had fell from their position on shelves and tables. The liquid from the jars left stains on the small rugs and the wooden floor. Roy turned to the military policeman. "Go see if anyone is out back," he ordered. The soldier left and Roy and Riza walked further into the house.

Roy walked over to the jars and lifted a shard that had a label on it. Riza walked over to a huge stain on the wall and placed her hand on it. Her stomach dropped when she recognized what it was. There was no doubt about it; it was blood. But how did it get that high on the wall? She loathed admitting that fact that she'd seen her fair share of blood splattered on items. She'd grown to know the pressure it took to splatter blood to a certain height: mainly because of the stains that littered the stone walls of the ruins of Ishbal.

She pushed the thoughts of the war from her head and tried to focus. She ran the possible causes of the stain through her head. A gunshot wouldn't make this much.

"Saltpeter," she heard Roy speak but didn't turn to him. She heard the clink of glass and he began talking again. "Iron, Zinc. Goddamn it!"

Her eyes widened when she realized what most likely went on. Though she didn't' know much about alchemy she knew about chemistry and anatomy. Of course, those lessons included the exact components that made up a human body.

"Damn it," Roy said.

"There's no way," she said. "They wouldn't be so stupid."

Roy turned to look at her after throwing the shards he was holding back onto the floor. He walked over to her and stared at the stain. Before either, one of them could speak anything else, the soldier returned.

"There's no one out back, sir," the old man said.

"Where would they be then?" he snapped, his voice filled with anger.

"If they aren't here then most likely they are at the Rockbells," he replied.

"I see," Roy replied, his voice calming quickly. "Please wait for us at the wagon." The soldier nodded, saluted, and left the house.

"These are blood stains sir. Do you think they..." She knew she didn't need to finish that sentence. Inwardly she hoped Roy had another explanation for all the chaos that surrounded them.

'Yes, they performed a human transmutation; forbidden alchemy," he stated.

"Didn't they know there was a good reason why it was forbidden?" she questioned, more to herself than to him.

"I am going to give those kids a piece of my mind if they survived this! Those idiots!" He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let's go, I want to see those kids if they are alive."

"They probably are, otherwise the soldier would know. Word travels fast in these small villages."

He removed his hand from her shoulder, nodded, and turned toward the door.

"Sir," she said to get his attention. She wanted to help him calm down and she knew of only one way to do that.

"Yes?" he questioned, turning back toward her.

"Permission to speak and act freely," she asked in a perfect officer type manner.

"You know you don't have to ask that," he responded. Roy was always a relaxed commanding officer. He allowed his subordinates to ask questions and give opinions. A strong leader was one that was willing to listen to all points of view of a given situation, even if they were opposite.

Riza knew she shouldn't be doing what she was about to do, but she could feel Roy's stress and anger radiating off him despite his attempts to hide it.

She walked over to him, gripped each side of his collar with her hands, and moved her lips to kiss the corner of his. She then pulled away and moved her lips to cover his, kissing him very softly. A small comforting kiss was all that she had in mind, but she felt Roy's arms wrap around her waist and he kissed her back roughly. His hand began sliding lower and lower; so low that she had to pull away from him.

She smiled softly. "You shouldn't let your hands wander so much."

"You shouldn't have done that while in uniform either," he replied in a low tone, with a slight grin on his face.

"She instantly straightened her posture and saluted. "Sorry sir. I will take my punishment like a proper officer."

Roy smirked at her. "I'll let it slide this time second lieutenant. Since it was all in the line of duty to calm your commanding officer down. Excellent job as always."

"Thank you sir. It's all in a day's work," she replied.

"Let's go Second Lieutenant Hawkeye," he said and then walked out the door. Riza smiled and followed him out of the house and back to the wagon.

They made their way to the Rockbell shop and Roy knocked loudly on the door. A short old woman with a pipe in her mouth answered, and Roy pushed his way past her only muttering a "Pardon me Ms. Rockbell." Riza resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Roy always had to make a dramatic entrance. She found his actions quite rude but decided not to speak on it.

"What in blazes is going on? Who are you people?" she snapped, angry at the intrusion. It was up to Riza to add some politeness to the situation.

"We are sorry to intrude Ms. Rockbell but we are looking for the Elric brothers. Are they here?" Riza questioned, in a polite manner.

Roy looked around the room and through the doorway to another room. He spotted a young man sitting in a wheelchair situated in front of a suit of armor. He growled and stalked over to the boy. Taking in the boy's appearance, Roy noticed that the young man was missing an arm and leg. If there were any doubts about the actions that occurred in that house, then they were gone now.

He grabbed the boy by the collar roughly. Riza sighed inwardly as she and Ms. Rockbell entered the room. She was hoping Roy would have remained calm.

"What in the hell did you do? What in the hell did you create!" Roy screamed. The young man looked away, his entire demeanor displaying horror and guilt. Roy felt a hand on his shoulder and was stunned when he looked up to see the suit of armor was the pers—thing—that did it. He was stunned further when it spoke to him with such a timid voice.

"We are sorry. Please forgive us, we are sorry," it said. Roy stood up straight, letting go of the young boy's collar.

"Lieutenant, please wait outside for me. This won't take long," Roy said. Riza was both surprised and a bit hurt at his request. He'd never asked her to leave the room when he was talking to someone, unless it was a commanding officer. Then, she always knew that she was supposed to leave because of military conduct. She did as he asked, shutting the door behind her.

She sat down on a padded bench that was built against the wall, and then sighed in frustration. She stood up to take off her coat, adjusted her skirt so it would rest easier under her, and then sat back down. She placed her legs together, folded her coat, and laid it beside her. She placed her hands on her lap, one over the other and sighed again. After sitting there a bit she chuckled to herself. Even with no one around, she still sat very orderly, just as females in the military were directed to sit while wearing skirts.

She shifted slightly and inwardly cursed the piece of clothing. Roy had insisted that she wear it since it was supposed to be a proper business meeting. She'd agreed since they weren't likely to encounter enemy combatants. She knew the real reason for the request though. Roy had made it clear from the moment he saw her in it, that he enjoyed seeing her wear it. Since she wore it, it meant he had to be the "gentlemanly" officer and help her more than he would if she wore pants; hence the help down from the wagon. It was a basic way to show affection that wouldn't get them in trouble.

A young girl came up to her carrying a tray with two cups sitting on it. From the serious expression on her face, it was clear that she wasn't happy that they were there. It wasn't surprising really. The soldiers of the Amestrian military weren't exactly thought of as saints: especially after what had happened at Ishbal.

As she thought of Ishbal for a moment, it suddenly hit her. Rockbell… She'd been so damned distracted by the fact a human transmutation had occurred that the name hadn't sunk in. Surely, the fact that those doctor's in Ishbal were Rockbells and this shop was ran by a Rockbell was more than a mere coincidence. Surely they weren't connected. There were millions of people with that last name right? They couldn't have come from here; it would be too damned ironic!

"Would you like some tea?" Riza heard the young girl ask.

She snapped from her thoughts and smiled at her. "Yes, Thank you, very much," Riza answered, taking a cup off the tray.

Roy sat down at the table, across from Ms. Rockbell. These circumstances were too coincidental to ignore and he figured that Riza already realized it as well. He knew right when he heard the name, that he would be facing the mother and mother in law of the two doctors he killed in Ishbal.

It hadn't fully hit him until he actually walked into the shop. His mind was in a rage that anyone would commit a human transmutation; so much so, that he had momentary forgotten. The Rockbell name was forever ingrained in his memory until the day he died. The Rockbell doctors were his first and only kills ever using a firearm.

At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to have Riza sitting beside him. Perhaps, holding his hand under the table, calming him down wordlessly.

"What is it that you want with these two boys? I assume that is what you came here for, correct?"

"Yes," he said, took a deep breath, and began making his offer.

The young girl plopped down on the bench beside her. She stared down at her tea for a bit before looking up and staring at Riza, making the older woman feel slightly uneasy.

"Is it hard?" the girl finally asked.

Riza was surprised at the question and directed her gaze toward the girl. "Is what hard?"

"Being in the military," she replied. "I've always been a bit curious about women in the military. Especially women like you."

"Like me?" Riza questioned, her interest in the young girl peaking.

"Yeah, I mean people expect pretty women like you to just get married and have children. It's hard to believe that you are a soldier. Especially a sniper," she replied.

Riza blushed slightly over the pretty comment, and at the same time was quite surprised that the girl knew she was a sniper.

"How do you know what I do?" Riza questioned.

"The gun pin on your epaulette," the girl answered. "I used to want to be an automail mechanic for the military. Not anymore though." Riza knew not to ask about the reasons why she no longer had a desire to do so. "Still, I bet it's tough. With the way men act and all."

"It depends on who you are dealing with and who your commanding officer is. I've had different experiences. Some people accept it; others hate it. I've run into both men and women who have less than nice things to say, such as I should be at home and know my place. Others are glad to see a woman working for herself. Lieutenant Colonel Mustang doesn't care that I am a woman. He realizes that I can do my job as well as any man."

"Oh…" the girl said. She took a drink of her tea and then looked down at the floor. "I don't like that Mustang guy. He's trying to take Ed and Al away. It's all because of stupid alchemy."

Riza felt sorry for the girl. They were actually rather similar. Riza once damned alchemy because it took her father away, so to speak. Now, she had mixed feelings toward it. She both hated it because of the situation with her father and Ishbal, but on the flipside, if it weren't for alchemy she wouldn't have Roy.

"We aren't going to take them by force, the choice is theirs. We can't make them come. If those boys have a strong will, they will know where they belong. Though they may have to go through a river of mud to reach it."

**(-)**

Suddenly, the door to the room opened and Roy came out. He slid on his coat and walked over to the door that led outside.

"Let's go," he said, his face not betraying anything about the outcome of the conversation.

"Yes sir," she said. She stood and slipped on her coat as Roy opened the door.

He turned back to look at her and was surprised to see that she was talking to the little girl. She wasn't really one to converse with strangers very often.

"I will see you later little girl," Riza said, a small smile gracing her lips.

"Oh! My name is Winry," the girl said, extending her hand to Riza.

"I see, okay, Winry. I hope to see you again," Riza said, taking the girl's hand and shaking it.

Roy and Riza left the shop, got back into the wagon, and began the ride back to town.

"Do you think that they will come?" she questioned.

"Yes, I am sure of it," he replied.

The confidence in his tone surprised her. "You sound so sure. Judging by the look in that boy's eyes, I'd say that he was beyond help."

"That's just what you saw. After I made my offer that boy's eyes were burning like fire."

"You would know that better than I would, wouldn't you?" she muttered in a low tone that only Roy could hear.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "We'll talk when we get back to the inn. All right?" he questioned.

Riza nodded and the rest of the ride was silent. When they finally arrived at the inn, Riza got her room key from the innkeeper and made her way upstairs, not waiting on Roy.

He got his own key and ascended the steps as well. He was fortunate that his room was right across from hers. However, his room wouldn't be in use. It never was when they went on these trips and it was just the two of them.

He twisted the knob and was relieved when he found it was unlocked. He went inside, shut, and locked the door.

Riza was taking off her uniform jacket, revealing a white dress shirt underneath that outlined the shape of her chest. He took off his coat and military jacket and threw it on the chair beside the door before walking over to her. She turned to him and placed both hands on her hips.

"Rockbells," she said.

"Yeah," he replied. "They are the family of those doctors."

"I didn't even recognize the name at first. All that was in my head was…"

"The human transmutation. Believe it or not, I didn't remember either."

Riza walked over to Roy and wrapped her arms around his neck. He smiled and lowered his head to rest on her shoulder, while wrapping his arms around her waist. He took a deep breath.

"Things weren't what we expected," he said.

"We should have expected that things wouldn't be what we expected. That tends to be how it goes when it comes to us," she said.

Roy chuckled and raised his head, his lips inches from hers. "It's sad that you are right," he said.

"Yeah, it is."

Roy pulled away and then went over to the bed to sit down. He slipped off his shoes, propped his feet up and lay down. He leaned against the pillows and closed his eyes.

"You comfortable?" she questioned, with a small smile.

"Yeah but I'd be even more comfortable if my beautiful wife were here beside me," he said, opening his eyes to look at her.

Riza laughed, slipped off her shoes, and moved onto the bed. She lay down beside him and suddenly found him leaning over her, a seductive smirk gracing his lips. He leaned down and moved his lips against hers, softly at first but then increasing the pressure.

He pulled away and moved to kiss her neck, as his hands went up to unbutton her shirt.

Riza wrapped her arms around his waist as his lips worked against the skin of her neck, directly on the pulse point.

She whimpered his name and he pulled away. "I wanted you there. I was an idiot," he said. He finished unbuttoning her shirt to reveal a white lace bra underneath the fabric. Roy reached behind her and unsnapped the garment. She sat up and shrugged off the shirt and bra. He quickly removed his shirt and then pushed her onto her back.

He then kissed a trail down to her breasts and reached under her to unzip her skirt.

"Damn it, I wanted you there," he said, as he rid her of the rest of her clothing, and then his own quickly. "I need you everywhere."

"I'll always be with you," she said, running one of her hands through his sweat soaked hair. After a while, he pulled out of her and moved to lie on his side, wrapping his arms around her tightly. She pulled the covers over them and they both settled in for a good night's sleep; hoping that nightmares wouldn't invade their dreams.

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**Author's Personal Code: RW 2009 **


	2. Train Ride

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 2: Train Ride**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.**

**AN: This chapter contains no anime or manga scenes it is just made up out of my head. (Scary!)I tried to think of how Riza and Roy would ramble with each other when I wrote this. I am sure Roy and Riza have their private ramblings too. I just wanted to add a random conversation between the two of them to show their familiarity with one another

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**Train Ride**

Roy tapped his fingers on the seat beside him, his frustration clearly displayed through both that action and his posture.

"I despise trains," he said. "I wish someone would come up with a better mode of transportation for long distances."

"You are only saying that because it's taking you back to the city, the city means back to work, and work equals paperwork," Riza said. Her gaze was directed down at her lap, which she currently had a small towel over, and her gun in parts lying upon the towel.

"You hate them too. I can certainly tell that," he said.

She looked up at him and tilted her head slightly. "Oh really? How so?" she questioned.

Roy shot her a smirk that made her stomach sink slightly.

"You are cleaning your guns," he said.

She looked back down at her lap and coughed. "So? It might be clogged or something. It wouldn't do for it not to work if something should happen," she retorted. She scolded herself inwardly. Clogged? That was the worse excuse she had thought of for anything. Everyone knew that she always kept her guns in first-rate condition. They would never be "clogged."

"Well if it is, I don't see how," Roy said, with a hint of humor in his voice and that know it all grin plastered to his lips.

She wanted to growl at him, knowing that he had the grin that she sometimes wanted to smack off his face, and at other times she wanted to kiss him to make it disappear. However, at the moment neither of those methods could be utilized.

"I mean you cleaned that same pistol on the way here and it hasn't been shot so therefore it shouldn't need to be cleaned and I know that you always clean your guns when you are nervous therefore trains make you nervous because there is nothing else around that could possibly employ that nervous feeling in you."

Riza rested her hands on her lap, gripping some parts of her gun, and looked up at him incredulously. "Who are you? Run on sentence man? Throw some pauses or something in that."

"You are on the defensive now," he said.

"Last time I checked, telling someone to speak so that someone else understands wasn't going on the defensive."

"You are changing the subject and that can be defined as becoming defensive," he said.

"Permission to speak freely sir?"

"Of course," he answered.

"Shut up," she said sternly.

Roy laughed and Riza went back to cleaning her gun. She looked up at Roy after a while and saw that his head had dropped and he'd drifted off to sleep. She smiled softly and directed her gaze out the window.

As much as she loathed admitting it, Roy was partially correct in his assumption that trains made her uneasy. It wasn't that she was nervous about riding them; it was more along the lines of what they represented to her. They made her remember her first kill. The first time she'd taken someone's life and, symbolically, poured blood on her hands.

Ishbal hadn't been the first place she'd taken a life, it was on the train on the way to the battle. It wasn't what the government deemed, "an enemy." She killed one of Amestris's own soldiers. She remembered seeing the blood leaking from the man's head and onto the dark green floor and remembered that it took all of her self control not to throw up. The soldier was a traitor, so to speak, and she'd saved a general that night, therefore no actions against her were even hinted at. To that general she was a hero, to her, she was a killer.

"Riza, are you all right?" she heard Roy ask. She snapped from her thoughts, turned to look at him, and gave him a slight smile.

"I'm fine. I'm just thinking about things."

"Things you shouldn't be thinking about," he said. He knew almost the exact thoughts in her head. The way she saved that general had spread around the camps but at the time, he had no clue that it was she that saved him. All that he knew was that it was a female soldier that did so.

"You were thinking too deeply again and you had that horrible look on your face; the one that you get when you are angry with me. It makes me nervous," he stated.

"I'm sorry," she said and directed her gaze back toward the window.

"Deep thoughts like the ones you were in aren't healthy," he said. "You shouldn't get that engulfed in them."

"I know," she replied. "I'll stop when you do." She then directed her gaze back down to the gun that was resting on her lap.

Roy frowned at the words, her subtle hint coming through loud and clear. It was quite hypocritical for him to tell her not to get lost in the realms of the past that lurked in the mind when he did the same exact thing. He wondered for a moment if Maes didn't space off on occasion, causing his fiancée Gracia a bit of worry.

However, there was a huge difference in Riza, Maes, and himself. He didn't seem to be helping people much in his current position while Riza and Maes put their focus in pushing him to the top, in helping him. They were determined to make him fuehrer, then and only then, would he be able to change things so another Ishbal would never happen again.

He gazed at his wife a bit longer before he stood and walked over to sit beside her. He scooted closer and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. They were riding in a private military car and there were no stops until they got home, so the gesture wouldn't be seen by anyone.

He watched her as her hands quickly worked on the gun. They were incredibly graceful, seemingly having minds of their own. She wasn't even thinking about her actions, as she clipped the proper sections in place. It was soon completely together and she clipped the cartridge back up into the handle before sticking it in the holster under her jacket. She then put up her cleaning equipment and surprised Roy when she leaned against him.

"That always amazes me," he said.

She moved her head up to look at him and found that their faces were only an inch apart. She didn't even flinch at the closeness.

"What amazes you?" she questioned, her mint breath blowing into Roy's face.

"The way you can put your gun together like that without even thinking about it. It's like your hands do it themselves, like they have minds of their own."

"I've put a gun together so many times," she said. She grabbed her purse and began sifting through it, looking for something.

"Yes, I guess it would become second nature. Then again, you've always been really good with your hands," he said, moving his mouth down to kiss her neck. "Really really good."

Riza chose to ignore the comment that she knew he meant as a dirty statement, and attempted to ignore the kisses and nips that he was placing along her neck. She figured she might as well let him go at it since there wasn't anyone that would suddenly come in on them.

She continued to dig in her purse until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a small poetry book, moved her purse back to her side, and opened the book to begin reading as Roy was having his fun.

He pulled away and frowned when he saw that his actions were having no effect whatsoever. He pouted and she chuckled. He moved his lips to that small spot behind her ear and nipped at the location, causing her to jump slightly. If he continued that route, he would get her so worked up that she'd have no choice but to throw him in the floor and give him what he was after. And of course, he knew that.

She pulled her head away from him and narrowed her eyes. "That's enough of that," she said. "Not there and you know why."

Roy grinned. "Fine, just let me have some fun. All right?"

Riza sighed and leaned her neck to the right slightly as he moved his lips back onto her smooth skin. He continued to kiss and nip at it as she continued reading. She had to admit that it was taking a lot of self-control to allow him to do that and not let her feelings take control of her.

He kissed that spot behind her ear again and this time she growled and scooted far across the seat, away from him.

"I told you to stop that," she said.

Roy smirked at her. "Why? There's no one here," he said.

"That's not the point," she said.

"But I'm bored," he pouted.

"Then read a book," she said. "I know you have that little black book with the notes in them. Read that."

"I don't get the problem," he said, scooting across the seat until he pressed against her slightly. "I mean we have three hours before we get back to the city, there are no stops, and the doors are locked. I could take you right here on this seat and still have time to spare. Hell, we could make all the noise we want."

"Sir!" she snapped. "There's no way in hell." She had to admit. With the way Roy talked about it, she was almost tempted to try it. However, she would never let him know that. If she even hinted that it intrigued her, then he would break out his full arsenal of seducing techniques and she'd be helpless.

He moved in closer to kiss her jaw line. "You have to admit, it sounds fun. Downright sexy as a matter of fact."

"Sir, please stop," she said in a whimper, "we can't do this."

Roy heaved a huge sigh and stopped kissing her. He nuzzled her neck and then sat up straight. He wrapped his arms around her shoulder, pulled her closer, and heaved yet another sigh. "Fine," he said. He kissed the top of her head and then took a deep breath.

"Riza?"

"What?"

"You always smell so damn good," he said changing the subject entirely.

Riza laughed. "Its lavender and vanilla," she replied. "The same scent I spray on our bed sheets every night to help relax us."

"Ah," he said. "I never realized you did that."

She laughed. "We've been married for three years and you have never realized that? You aren't very observant."

"The entire three years?" he questioned.

"Yes," she said.

"Ah, oh well. I am horrible with sent recognition. Either way, it's a good smell."

She laughed lightly yet again. "Sent recognition huh? Anyway, what's with the sudden curiosity with the way I smell?"

Roy thought of saying something incredibly romantic but instead he opted out, knowing she would probably just laugh and roll her eyes.

"I ask because I like it," he said. "Your smell is comforting to me. I love it because it's ... well...you."

Though he didn't mean for it to sound romantic, it turned out that it did.

She turned her head and smiled at him. It wasn't what she was expecting him to say. She kissed his cheek quickly and went back to reading. He began kissing her neck once more after a short wait. This time the kisses didn't distract her at all. Roy cursed, pulled away from her, and folded his arms like a scolded child.

"You are the hardest woman to seduce that I have ever met. Especially during times like this," he said, before he thought better of it. She laid her book down on her lap and shot him a glare.

"Just how many women have you been trying to seduce in the past three years we've been married? Not any I hope," she said with a growl. Jealous Riza wasn't that common for Roy to see, but when she did come out, it made him want to go crawl under a rock somewhere.

"Riza! You know better than that! I have never and would never cheat on you. Even if I was being held at gunpoint."

"How many after you left my home. After you ended what we had back then."

Roy cringed. He wasn't really proud of the things he did in the short time that he and Riza were apart; the time he broke it off with her and told her to move on; the time before they met again in Ishbal. Even so, he never really seduced anyone, never treasured any of those women. They were more like fuck and runs. They thought he was hot; he wanted to escape the pain for the night.

Even during all those times he… screwed around… with them, he was thinking of Riza. He was pretending that the body he was touching was hers; that it was her voice that was screaming in pleasure. He knew that even if he told her that, it wouldn't make her feel any better.

"Never mind," she said. "I don't think I want to know the answer to that question." She picked her book back up and began reading once more.

Roy didn't like the tone that she used and knew what she was conveying to him. It said that there was no way in hell he was going to get laid for a while so he should forget about it. He slouched in his seat and cursed. It was going to be a long long ride back home.

* * *

-

-

**Author's Personal Code: RW 2009 **


	3. Home

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 3: Home **

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own all the original content in this fiction and my idea. **

**

* * *

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**Home**

When Roy and Riza arrived in Central, night was just beginning to descend on the city. The environment surrounding them was quite busy as people began their treks home. Roy and Riza got off the train and retrieved their bags. Riza gazed up at the huge clock tower that could be seen from any location in the city.

"Five o'clock," Riza said.

"Figures we'd arrive at the busiest time of the evening. We are just so lucky," Roy said, lacing his tone with sarcasm. Things on the train didn't go well and for the rest of the ride after their "discussion" the tension was so thick it could probably be cut.

"Well, at least there should be plenty of taxis around," Riza said.

Roy nodded. They walked out of the train depot. After a few unsuccessful attempts, Roy finally managed to hail a taxi and they made their way to their apartment building.

Since the majority of occupants that lived in the building were military personnel, it wasn't unusual that both lived there. It was quite convenient and gave them an excuse to see each other after work without raising suspicion. To make it even more convenient, they lived in apartments next to each other. In addition, she was his bodyguard as well as subordinate so it was almost expected that she would live close by.

They got out of the car and made their way inside the building and to their apartments. Riza unlocked the door to her place and carried her bags inside. Before Roy could step in, she shut the door in his face, surprising him.

Roy sighed and turned to walk a few steps to his door. He unlocked it and carried his bags inside as well. After sitting them down beside the door, deciding to unpack them later, he shrugged off his coat and uniform jacket and hung them on a peg on the wall. He shut the door back, walked over to his couch, and sat down roughly. He leaned his head back and growled in frustration.

He wanted to be with Riza at the moment but she was still clearly upset over the mention of his past transgressions.

Roy let himself fall onto his side, his head hitting the pillow residing at the corner of the couch. He moved his head so that his face pushed into the leather material.

"Damn it," he said, his voice muffled. He moved to lie on his back, and he stared up at the ceiling. "Honestly, those women meant nothing to me. She shouldn't be angry." Roy said aloud. He had a bad habit of talking to himself and muttering things out in the open when he was alone. However, he found that it relaxed him and helped his reasoning skills work at optimum levels. "No, she doesn't have a reason." He said again, trying to convince himself that he was speaking the truth.

The more Roy thought about it, the more he realized that she did indeed have a reason to be angry. The more he thought about the way he broke up with her during that time, and the things he did while she was, surprisingly, still in love with him, the more horrible he felt.

"But we were broken up. . ." he tried to reason aloud. "So it should matter. She was free to move on as well."

He nodded his head once, trying to convince himself further that he was indeed in the right. But then his mind started taking on Riza's point of view, which was quite inconvenient in these situations. It had to hurt that someone they she loved was doing that while she was alone. Riza's entire life was spent alone until he came along. Sure, her father had been around, but to call him a father would have been trying to fit him into a category in which he didn't belong.

He didn't deserve a woman like Riza either. That's why he'd broken it off after all. He figured she would move on.

So there he was at a stalemate with his thoughts. Both points of view staring each other down, neither one moving forward or back. Did Riza's thoughts ever go crazy like this? Did she sometimes see his view of the situation as well as her own? If she did then she obviously wasn't doing it now. If she was, then she would be over here with him or he would have been allowed to enter her apartment instead of having the door shut in his face.

Women were quite an enigma. This was especially true when it came to Riza. He never knew what was going to piss her off or the level in which certain things would do so. He'd often heard men say things like Riza wasn't the typical woman or that she probably kept a flat personality at all times. Nothing could be further from the truth. He would never describe Riza's demeanor as flat. In fact, her demeanor was just as moody, if not more so, than other women. One minute she was being sweet and kind, the next she was threatening to shoot off his happy place: and it was even worse during her "time of the month." However, he knew that would never happen. If she did that, she would only be making herself suffer as well. If she never got laid then she would be even grumpier.

Roy grinned at that thought and sat up. Though she'd never admit it to him, she got just as sex crazed as he did. There were tiny little places he could kiss or stroke that would turn her on. She teased him all the time about being a sex fiend but he could honestly say the same to her: but he wasn't that stupid.

All the little things she did during their intimate moments came to mind. All those little groans and whimpers were enough to drive a man wild. The fact that he was the one that was causing them, and was the only one that ever would, sent pride surging to his…head. He stood and headed for the shower, intending to make full use of the cold water.

**(-)**

Riza sighed as she stepped out of the bathroom after showering and dressing in her pajamas. She walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. She was quite hungry after the little Risembool adventure and the long train ride, complete with discussion.

She growled as she took some beef and vegetables from the fridge and sat them on the counter, a little more roughly than necessary. She got a pot, filled it with water, sat it on the stovetop, and turned the stove on on. She then grabbed a knife and began cutting the vegetables and meat into small pieces, muttering as she did so.

After the water was boiling, she added the vegetables then set about making the brown gravy in another pot, and fixing the meat in a skillet. It was a lot of work, but homemade beef stew was worth it. Roy especially thought so, though she wondered if he knew how much work actually went into making the delicious meal. It was Roy's favorite and he would usually order beef stew when they served it at the mess hall or in restaurants. Each time he always commented to her that hers was the best he had.

She wasn't sure what possessed her to begin making it when a sandwich would suffice. After all, she was angry with him and fixing his dinner for him, especially one he loved, was a blatant contradiction of that. Of course, she wanted a hot meal as well and even if she was angry, she couldn't very well forget about him.

Actually, she wondered if she really had a right to be angry with him. After all, they really were broken up, and she knew that the entire time he still loved her. He told her that he always loved her and with just the look in his eyes, she could tell he wasn't just saying that to appease her. At the same time, what girl wouldn't be angry with him after being broken up with via a damned letter and then finding out that he slept around a bit?

She growled. Upon thinking of that, her second thoughts on giving him the stew reemerged. She was acting like one of those annoying possessive women. She'd always hated when women got jealous over something stupid that their boyfriend or husband did. If their men so much as glanced at another woman, the girlfriend or wife would just complain or pout… just as she was sort of doing. The fact of the matter was that Roy didn't just look; he did much much more.

She straightened up and added all of her stew ingredients into a pot. "I am not acting like a jealous woman," she said aloud, yet her thoughts were arguing back at her full force. "I am not pouting," she said, speaking aloud again. It was as if her personality was currently split into two parts, and an argument was going on in her head.

_You are too acting like a pouting woman!_

_I am not!_

_Are too!'_

_I am not!_

_Are too!_

"I am not pouting dammit!" she yelled, her voice carrying through the empty apartment. As soon as the sentence left her mouth she realized what she did and how odd it was. She stayed quiet for a moment; the only noises in the apartment were the slight hum of the stove as it cooked the stew and the occasional scrape of the spoon against the pot as she stirred. Finally, she heaved a huge sigh and spoke aloud once more.

"I think I am cracking up. I'm becoming worse than Roy."

**(-)**

Roy heard a knock on the door just as he was coming out of the shower. He quickly finished drying off, wrapped a clean towel around his waist, and glanced at the clock. Since it was a bit late in the evening, he figured only one person would be knocking on his door at this time: Riza of course.

He walked out to his living room and over to the door. Looking through the peephole, he found that his assumption was correct. Riza was standing there in her pajamas, with something in her hands that he couldn't quite make out.

He looked down at his state of undress and grinned widely at the fun that he could have with the current situation. He unlocked the door, opened it, and shot her a sexy smirk. She looked him up and down, and then just walked past him, the fact that he was in a towel not fazing her in the slightest.

"I thought you might like some dinner," she said, walking into the kitchen. Roy's face fell in disappointment at her lack of reaction. He was half-naked for goodness sake! Sure, he wasn't expecting her to jump him right there, but a smile, blush, or a longer look would have been pleasant. He shut the door, locked it, sighed, and made his way into the kitchen.

He stopped at the doorway as he watched Riza get two bowls out of the cabinet. His eyes drifted to the large blue bowl that she sat on the counter.

"Wha-" he started to ask, but she cut him off.

"You should get dressed. It's getting cold," she said, not turning around to look at him.

Roy didn't reply as he turned around and headed back to his bedroom. He walked over to his dresser and shuffled through his drawers for something to wear. After slipping on a pair of boxers, he donned a pair of dark blue pajama bottoms and a tank top, and then walked back to the kitchen. He saw that Riza had the two bowls sitting on the table with a plate of bread and two glasses of milk sitting with them.

He saw that Riza finally looked at him and then looked away quickly, a blush gracing her cheeks. Her actions weren't unnoticed obviously but they did confuse him. She didn't even blink when he only wore a towel but now that he was covered, she blushed like a virgin on her wedding night. He laughed inwardly. Since he couldn't have fun with the towel incident, he decided he would do so with this circumstance.

He walked toward her with a sexy smirk and pulled her against him, her hands gripping his forearms as he did so. He bent to brush her lips lightly then leaned in to kiss her harder when he smelled something familiar. He grinned at her.

"What did you fix?"

She laughed softly. "What does it smell like?" she asked.

"You made beef stew?" he questioned, his tone taking on an oddly hopeful lilt.

"Yes," she said, pulling out of his embrace and sitting down at the table. "Let's eat," she said.

Roy sat down and eagerly began eating the hot, comforting meal. They stayed quiet as they ate and within the hour, Roy had eaten three bowls of the stew.

"It's been a while since I've eaten anything that tasted so good. Your stew is always the best. I haven't found anything to match it yet," he said. She stood and took their dishes over to the sink as he stood.

"Not even Gracia's cooking?" she questioned, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes.

"Nothing," he said stretching and then groaning as a muscle popped. "The best stuff in the world." He straightened his body and smiled at her.

She cursed inwardly at her heart for speeding up on her when she was merely looking at him. She also cursed him for slipping on those damned pants. All through dinner, she could only think of how good he looked. There was something about the way they fit him that made her go weak in the knees. She hated to admit that it was quite difficult to concentrate on her eating when all she wanted on top of that table was Roy. She then remembered that she probably wasn't the only one that saw him like that. She wasn't the only one that was able to see him so relaxed and at peace either. She looked directly down at the dishes she was washing, putting all of her focus on them. Soon she had them washed, dried, and back in the cabinets.

"I'm going to go get some sleep now," she found herself saying. It was as if her body had just taken control and those words slipped out. She hadn't really wanted to say that, but figured her subconscious currently knew what was best for her and forced the words out.

She turned to walk past him but he grabbed her arm.

"You aren't staying here tonight?" he questioned, surprise evident in his tone.

"No," she said. "I don't want to."

He pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her hair. She relaxed slightly when his smell hit her. "Don't be mad at me," he said. "I thought we discussed this before."

"Do you think I shouldn't be mad?" she questioned. "And no we never discussed this. It's long overdue."

"I don't think you should be mad since I didn't do anything wrong," he replied, and then suddenly, felt like slapping himself. He always managed to say the wrong things at the wrong times.

She pulled away and glared at him.

"Didn't do anything wrong? Let me see Roy. We made love when I was sixteen, which is legal but is shaky ground. Then you asked me to wait until you become an alchemist then we'd get married. I preoccupied myself, waiting until you send word that you were coming back to get me, and what did I get? A basic rejection letter Roy. A letter."

"I thought that it would be best for the both of us," he said.

"Well it wasn't. Do you want to know how that made me feel? It made me feel like dirt. Like I was just a quick fuck or conquest. Like I was a complete fool for giving myself to you, yet I had no regrets. It made me angry that you were probably proud that you took my virginity. How many people did you sleep with before you sent that letter?"

"You took mine too," he said, not answering her questions and instead replying to a statement. His words threw her off track.

"I what?" she questioned.

Roy reached up to cup her face in his hands. "You were the first for me as well."

She pulled away and looked at him with shock. "You are lying!"

"No, I'm not," he replied. "I wouldn't lie about something like that."

"But…it was…you were…wow…" she said.

Roy laughed. "You were a virgin too. You didn't really have anything to compare it with."

"Roy, with the way my body felt I didn't need anything to base it on," she said. "It was incredible."

Roy smirked cockily, "I aim to please," he said. Roy thought he'd get a laugh but was alarmed to see that instead he received an angry glare.

"Yes, I'm sure after that you did your fair share of pleasing," she snapped.

"Riza!" he protested. "That's not true. I didn't do any...pleasing...as you put it." If he were to be perfectly honest, he felt rather silly fighting like this. He felt like someone grabbed him out of the real world and put him into one of those cheesy dramas that played constantly down at the Ridge Street Theater.

"Not once," she said.

"Pardon?"

"I never slept with anyone else. Not even after you did what you did. I wasn't even tempted in the slightest. I was kissed and I kissed back for a moment but then I nipped that in the bud. It didn't feel right since I was still in love with you."

"I don't believe that," he said. "You are a beautiful woman Riza, and there are some good men out there. You can't tell me you didn't even think about it."

"I didn't Roy. Not once. Hell, I didn't even have time to think about such things. I figured you would sleep with someone else eventually but it hurt too much to think about it."

Roy stared at her. He was completely taken aback by her revelation. He couldn't believe Riza never slept with anyone during their time apart. He found himself growing angry and jealous over any man that would touch her, and then suddenly, realized exactly how she felt. The way she felt over the way he broke up with her and then slept with a few women, even though they meant nothing to him, was the equivalent of how he felt when he thought of another man touching Riza.

He walked up to her and took her hands with his. He stared into her eyes, trying to convey just how sorry he was to her. He then bent his head to kiss her forehead, then her cheek, then her neck, just barely letting his tongue touch her clean skin. He nuzzled her neck. She moved it to the left slightly to give him better access as he began to nip her skin with his teeth, leaving tiny red spots that would fade within minutes of their appearance. He moved up to bite her ear lobe gently.

"What can I do to make it up to you? I'll do anything you want," he said, and then kissed the spot behind her ear. She gripped his shirt with her hands, knowing she might fall onto the floor if she didn't. She groaned and fisted his shirt tighter in her grip as he continued to adorn the spot.

"Nothing," she said. "There's nothing you can…um…do"

Then Roy pulled away and laughed causing her to look at him angrily.

"What in the hell are you laughing at?" she snapped.

"I never thought that you could be such a…a…"

"A what Roy?

"Such a …woman!"

Riza almost fell over at the comment. She knew what he meant but wasn't expecting to hear it. Not as he was "making things up" to her. Well she would get even with her own form of teasing on a topic that annoyed him.

"Oh really? That surprises you? Apparently you haven't been paying attention very well these past few years," she said, mocking a surprised tone. She tilted her head to the side and looked at him. "Apparently, I haven't either. As a sniper, I should have been more observant. But to be honest, I never would have thought it."

Roy raised an eyebrow at Riza's new demeanor. "Just what are you getting at?"

"The fact that it surprises you that I am a woman. I never would have thought that you preferred men. I mean, just the tone of your voice revealed all."

"Riza! You know better than that. I don't have anything against gay people, but I'm the least gay person you are going to meet!"

Riza wanted to laugh aloud at his reaction but instead chose to push it back in favor of teasing him further. She lifted her hand to her chin and pretended to think, ignoring Roy's protests.

"I love you so much but I don't want to stand in the way of you finding your true love. Now let me see. I can divorce you if you want and fix you up."

"Riza," Roy warned, his arms wrapping around her waist and tightening more than they usually did.

"There's Boo Boo at the flower shop. He's always looking for a man," she began, ignoring the growl that came from Roy. "Then there's Frank down at the grocery store."

Roy cut off her suggestions by moving his lips onto hers and kissing her roughly. He felt her hands fist in his hair as he backed her against the kitchen counter. He pulled away from the passionate kiss then kissed her once very quickly.

"I don't like men," he said, kissing her lightly after each word. He took her bottom lip between his and sucked on it for a moment before releasing it and slipping his tongue in her mouth, his hands sliding down to rest on her hips. He heard her moan again and pulled away, satisfied that her teasing had ended and his had just started. He slowly trailed his hand down to her thigh and pulled it up, her leg locking around his waist instinctively. Her other leg soon locked around him as well.

"Roy, we are in the kitchen," she managed to gasp out.

"So?" he muttered, continuing his actions more roughly. She unwrapped her legs from his waist and sat her feet on the floor, her arms circling his neck. Roy pulled his lips away from her to stare at her for a moment before a grin appeared on his face. He lifted her onto the counter and quickly slipped both her pants and underwear off in one quick motion.

"Roy!" she scolded. Suddenly, he lifted her, pulled her closer, and carried her into the bedroom. He fell back onto the bed taking her with her and causing her to laugh lightly. He crawled on top of her and began his administrations to her body: intending to show her just how much he wanted her and only her.

**(-)**

He pulled her down to rest on top of him, her head resting on his shoulder. After he finally caught his breath, he laughed.

"What's so funny," she questioned, her sentence pausing slightly between words since she was still recovering.

"Since we had sex like that, it proves I'm not gay," he said.

Riza chuckled. "I don't know. You could be bisexual."

"Riza," he pouted, causing her to chuckle again.

She leaned up, kissed him, and moved her hips slightly.

"Prove it again," she said.

Roy grinned and pushed her onto her back, intending to do as she told him.

* * *

**Author's Personal Code: RW 2009 **


	4. Phone Distractions

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 4: Phone Distractions**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA**

**AN: 2012- I had to cut even more of the sensual scene in this to make sure it fit into the M rating (even though it did before, I decided to play it safe). While I'd rather just rewrite to omit this, I, sadly, don't have the time. If you'd like the full version of it, there's a link to my wordpress blog on my profile with bks uncut. You can subscribe to the blog and you'll get alerts just like on here (no spamming either). I'll put the address here bestkeptsecretmsd . wordpress (You'll have to put the http before the address and the .com at the end of wordpress.  
**

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**Phone Distractions**

Roy looked down at his wife as she dozed. She was lying on her side, her body resting between his body and his arm, her head resting on his chest and her right arm slung across his body. He smiled at her and began running his hand gently up and down her back. She cuddled closer to him and then he watched as she kissed his chest once before opening her eyes.

She moved to lie on her stomach and rested her chin on his chest so she could stare at his face. She smiled at him sleepily as he raised his hand to her face and touched it gently.

"This is one of my favorite things in this world. I love just laying in a nice warm bed with you in my arms." She moved so she could lean over him and kissed him gently.

"It's one of mine too," she said.

"You still mad at me?" he questioned.

"No," she said. "I'm not mad."

Roy smiled at her and moved his head up to kiss her, his hand moving behind her head. Riza laughed and straddled his body. She pulled away from the kiss and sat up, smirking mischievously.

"I wonder if the same spot affects you," she said suddenly, changing their topic to something more playful.

"Same spot?" he questioned.

She leaned down and kissed his jaw line, trailing up to kiss right behind his ear, in the same place that made her turn to jelly. When he groaned, she deduced that it indeed was a sensitive spot for him as well. She bit his ear lobe and then whispered in his ear.

"Time for me to show you what I can do with my mouth," she whispered sensually then kissed his neck. Roy smirked and moved his hands to rest on the small of her back and she began adorning his neck with kisses and small bites.

Roy sighed and let his body relax completely. Riza was the only one that could make him do so. Sometimes at work, he found it odd that the dry and strict officer was the same woman that was so sensual and free when alone like this with him. While she rarely did the initial seducing, once they went at it she could be everything from a fucking obsessed hellcat to a slow sensual seductress, and she knew exactly when to use what persona.

At the moment, it seemed she was combining the two to create a single personality. His breath sped up as she descended his body, kissing his chest then his stomach as her hand trailed down his body. He was going to go crazy, just the thought of what she was about to do to him was . . . distracting.

Right when her hand started to grip him, the phone rang.

"Damn it to hell!" Roy cursed. Riza moved back up to lie beside him and threw an arm over his chest. She rested her head on his shoulder and snuggled closer to him as he reached for the phone that was sitting on the side table.

"Stupid phone," Roy said, causing her to laugh lightly.

"Hello?" Roy said into the phone, the agitation in his voice distinct.

"Hey Roy!" Riza heard the voice on the phone and the laughed to herself. She knew Maes' voice anywhere. It was one of those distinct voices that one couldn't forget and that stood out when it was among many other voices.

"Hi Hughes," Roy reply, a bit of his initial agitation disappearing.

Riza moved her lips to his neck and started to kiss him lightly, causing him to move it to the side slightly to give her more room.

"Yes Maes, you did show me pictures of Gracia. Great Maes, I am happy for you. Yes, I know about your proposing. I'm your best man remember," he replied to something Maes said.

Riza laughed. Maes had proposed a year ago but waited a long time before a proper wedding because he wanted to get his job well established and find a nice house to raise a family in. She was sure he was teasing Roy.

She lifted her head to look at her husband to see that his eyebrow was twitching; a sure sign he was either ticked off or just annoyed. She decided she would help him relax while having a bit of fun.

She leaned up, her bare chest brushing against his, and kissed his brow, then his forehead. When she moved away, she saw that he smiled at her. She grinned and moved back to rest at his side.

Riza moved her lips to his shoulder and then trained them slowly, barely touching his skin, back to his neck. She bit his neck and felt Roy flinch. He stopped talking, his concentration on his conversation on Hughes temporarily halted.

"Roy? Are you listening?" she heard Maes question. Roy moved his head to look her at her face. She could tell he wanted to question her actions.

She gave him an innocent grin and whispered, "What?" She said it so innocently and sweetly, as if she wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. Roy smiled and moved his head back to its previous position.

"Roy!" Maes said, a bit louder than usual, trying to get Roy's attention.

"What? What is it Maes?" Roy questioned.

Riza kissed the side of his face and up to his ear. She bit the lobe and ran her tongue along the outer shell of his ear, knowing that it would turn Roy on and make him lose his train of thought.

"You haven't been paying attention to a word I've said," Maes said.

Roy tried to control the shaking in his voice as Riza continued her attentions to his ear. "Sure I was Maes," he said, his voice cracking slightly.

"Yeah, right," Maes said, and then it suddenly occurred to him what may be going on. "Roy, are you with a woman right now?"

"No, no of course not," Roy replied.

"Really? That tone of voice tells me you are lying."

Riza pulled away from his ear and grinned evilly at him, indicating she indeed had a mischievous idea. Roy swallowed nervously upon seeing the expression.

She began to get rough with her kisses to his neck and paid even more attention to the spot behind his ear, doing whatever she could to distract him.

"Maes, do you honestly think I would stay on the phone this long with you if there was a woman in my bed? Now, what were you saying?" Roy said. Really, a warped part of him found Riza doing this to him while he was on the phone with Maes very sexy. It was like he had to use perfect control to keep Maes from figuring out what was going wrong. However, it wasn't proper for them to be doing that so sadly, it needed to stop.

"Yeah, I suppose not Roy," Maes said.

He covered the phone's mouthpiece. "Riza, I'm on the phon…" he trailed off when she did something particularly pleasing.

"I've never known something to distract you from things like this," she said.

He leaned his head against the pillow and tried to regain focus. What he really wanted to do was hang up and just enjoy one of her many skills at work. She could do far more great things with her lips than just bestowing kisses on his neck.

Roy bit his lip as he heard Maes question if he was alright.

"Riza…stop…it," he said and cursed to himself. Those were the hardest words he ever had to say in his life. He felt Riza's mouth leave him and wanted to whimper.

"I'm fine Maes," Roy said, "just having a bit of phone trouble."

"Yeah, okay," Maes said. Roy could tell that his friend didn't sound convinced. "The tux and dress fittings are tomorrow at noon. When you see Riza tell her that the bridesmaids are being fitted tomorrow as well. You got it?"

"Right, tux and dress fitting at noon tomorrow," he said.

"All right then, I will let you get some sleep," Maes said. Roy could swear he heard Maes mumble before he hung up, "Or laid."

Roy hung up the phone and turned to Riza. "That was cruel," he said.

"But you found it sexy didn't you?" she questioned with a smirk, while running her hands down his body.

Roy grinned and kissed her. "Yes and I feel so dirty for feeling that way," he said.

"Sex is a dirty thing," she said.

"Yeah, great isn't it?" he questioned.

Riza laughed and nodded. "I think most people will agree with you on that point."

Roy moved over her and started to kiss the side of her neck. "What did you put in that beef stew?"

"What do you mean," he said.

"We haven't done this in a while. I feel like I could take you many more times tonight."

"It was just regular old beef stew," she said, laughing as his lips lowered down on her collarbone.

"Well, no matter. I want you," he said between kisses.

"You didn't while you were on the phone," she said, teasing him. She moved her hand to his chest and pushed him off of her before straddling his waist. He rested his hands on her waist.

"I always want you," he said, "but it wouldn't be good if Maes knew what we were doing while I was on the phone."

"I suppose you're right," she leaned down to kiss him.

"We don't have to go to work tomorrow do we?" he questioned. "I want to spend the entire day with you."

"No, we don't but you know we have to go for those fittings for the Maes and Gracia's wedding," she replied. When Roy looked puzzled she responded to the look. "Roy! I know you aren't that dense. Maes just told you that not even ten minutes ago."

Roy nodded. "I know but I forgot for a moment. You can't blame me. I mean, look at what you were doing to me. If it is between remembering wedding plans or good sexual actions, most are going to remember the sexual actions the most."

"I suppose," she said.

Roy smirked and ran his fingers over her nipples causing her to shift her hips. She reached up and removed his hands, placing them above his head. She smirked at him.

"Keep them there," she said.

Roy grinned and started to question why until she resumed the activities she was partaking in while he was on the phone with Maes.

* * *

**Author's Personal Code: RW 2009 **


	5. Future Wedding

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 5: Weddings **

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own my idea. No swiping. **

**

* * *

**

**Weddings**

Riza stirred as the sunlight peaked through the blinds and hit the side of her face, warming it but also causing her much displeasure. She groaned and slowly opened her eyes. Instead of seeing across the room, she saw the chest of her husband. She grinned what Roy called her sleepy, pleased, grin that only he would ever see. However, at the current moment he was not seeing it because he was still sleeping. She cuddled closer to him, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was her favorite time of day.

She always woke before him and just loved to lie in his embrace and watch him sleep. She loved to focus on his breathing pattern and take in his scent. He looked so peaceful most of the time when he was asleep: rarely displaying any of the stress that his life had dealt him.

She smiled as he pulled her tighter against him, mumbling her name and that he loved her. As much as she loved her current position it would be best if they both got up. She kissed his lips softly and whispered in his ear. "Roy, wake up," she said.

He groaned and mumbled her name again. Riza smiled softly and stroked the side of his face gently, noticing that he had a bit of stubble that needed to be shaved.

"Roy, wake up, we have fittings today remember? We have to get up now," she spoke again. The only answer she received was another mumble and him pulling her even closer, wrapping one of his legs over hers.

Riza found herself regretting that they had to get up; it was just so damned comfortable. Sadly, there was no way around it.

"Roy, wake up," she tried again and once again, he didn't answer. She sighed; she'd have to pull out the big guns then.

"Roy, I want to have sex," she said in a seductive tone. Before she knew it, she was on her back with Roy's lips on hers, kissing her roughly. She laughed, returned the kiss, and then pulled away. She pushed him off her and he fell back onto the warm bed. He sat up and rubbed his head.

"I thought you said you wanted to have sex," he said, now wide-awake.

"That was the only gentle way I could think of to get you to wake up," she replied.

"You call that gentle?" He lay down and rested his head against Riza's chest. "That was cruel. You are a cruel woman," he said with a pout.

She laughed, kissed the top of his head and began running her hands through his hair. She felt him relax and looked over at the clock on the wall.

"It's nine o'clock and the fitting is at noon. We need to get ready and have some breakfast right now so we won't end up late."

Roy groaned and cuddled closer to her. "I hate tuxes," he muttered, "When I wear them I look like a giant penguin."

"So? Penguins are cute," she said.

Roy moved his head so that he could look at her face, and then grinned at her. "That makes me feel a bit better."

"See? Now that we've established you are cute and you feel better, that means that you can . . . " she sat up, causing Roy's face to hit down onto the pillow, "get out of bed."

She got out of bed and walked toward the bathroom, fully aware that Roy was gazing at her naked form. She stopped at the bathroom door.

"You want to take a shower with me?" she questioned before walking into the room.

Roy grinned and stood up, following her into the bathroom.

**(-)**

It took a bit longer than normal for Riza and Roy to shower due to the fact that one of them was usually distracting the other one from cleaning up. Riza had to say that it was the dirtiest shower she'd ever had.

They got dressed and had breakfast before getting in the car and driving to the dress shop across town. Since both of them lived in the same building they knew Maes wouldn't make a big deal out of them riding to the place together. Roy found a place to park and they made their way inside.

Roy was quickly taken back to get dressed in his tux while Riza walked over to Gracia and her bridesmaids.

"Sorry we are a bit late," she said to Gracia. Gracia blinked and looked at the clock

"Late? It's only three minutes after," Gracia said.

"Don't forget that she's military Gracia," one of the bridesmaids said, "she's used to a dull, punctual life."

Riza turned to the girl, if she remembered correctly her name was Marcel, and narrowed her eyes but before she could say a word the men came out and Marcel's eyes lit up.

"You men look so handsome!" Marcel exclaimed. Riza turned to look at the men. Her gaze met Roy's and she noticed the small frown on his face. She smiled inwardly. He was the only man with rather pale skin, dark, hair and dark eyes. She knew what he was thinking and he was right; he did look like a penguin.

"Lovely," Gracia said.

"Of course Gracia! You are looking at the most handsome group of men in all Amestris," Maes joked.

Riza saw Roy roll his eyes and had to withhold a chuckle. Roy never thought of himself as good looking even though people told him he was and he always joked about his looks being amazing. She would have to say that Roy was the most handsome man she'd ever seen. Of course, she was bias.

"Now you ladies need to try your dresses on after the men change. We lucked out that the tuxes fit so well using the initial measurements," the seamstress said.

As the men went back to change out of their suits, Maes walked over to Gracia and kissed her. "I have to get back to the office. See you tonight," he said.

"Be careful," she said.

The men soon came out and the women all went back to change into their dresses. The groomsmen were waiting for their tuxedos to be wrapped so they were still there when the bridesmaids came out. Marcel seemed like she was trying to upstage the others even though all the dresses were alike; light pink with a blue sash-like belt around the waist. As the men complimented the lovely women, Marcel shot a flirty smile at Roy. Roy merely smiled back and added a compliment directed at all the women.

"You ladies look beautiful," he said.

"Thank you," Marcel said aloud, as if she was the only woman present.

"Riza? Are you alright in there?" Gracia asked, walking back to the dressing room. Peaking through the curtain, she saw one of the seamstresses adjusting the train on the dress. She looked up at Riza and was surprised to see her put a necklace with rings on it in her purse. She decided she wouldn't say anything for now.

"Just a moment, the train is a bit too long, we are hemming it up a bit," the seamstress said. "The other girls' dresses fit just fine so they can change and have their dresses wrapped."

"Very well, I'll tell them," Gracia said, walking to her bridesmaids. "You girls can go change," she said.

The bridesmaids went back to the dressing rooms as Riza walked out. She walked toward Gracia and the men; her white heals clicking on the floor with every step she took. Roy was so stunned when he saw her that he forgot how to breathe for a moment. She looked so damned beautiful.

Apparently, the rest of Maes's groomsmen felt the same way because their reactions were just to stare at her, which caused a slight bit of jealousy to flare for a moment. After that flare, pride took over him. Those men didn't have a chance with her; she was his wife after all.

Riza stepped upon the small box that was situated in front of the mirror as the seamstress made more adjustments to the simple yet gorgeous dress. The fabric was light blue silk that clung to her lightly. The top of the dress rested across her shoulders, her back obscured from view, which had been something Riza had insisted on of course, much to Gracia's confusion. A white sash was around the waist of the dress, causing it to highlight her curves quite a bit.

"Riza, that dress looks stunning on you," Gracia said. She glanced at Roy from the corner of her eyes and saw that he couldn't stop staring at Riza. It was both cute and amusing.

The men started to compliment her and soon as small blush appeared on her cheeks.

The seamstress stood back and admired the dress and the woman in it. "Miss Riza, you should have gone into modeling," she said.

"I don't know about that but thank you," she said.

**(-)**

Riza went back to change and the groomsmen finally got their tuxes and left. The bridesmaids waited for their dresses while Riza walked out of the dressing room and over to stand beside Roy. Gracia went back to try on her dress. After the bridesmaids got their things they started to leave.

Marcel walked up to Roy and slipped something in his pocket. He smirked at her and when she left, removed a small sheet of paper with a number on it.

He turned to Riza who was glaring at him angrily. He reached the paper to her. "Think you can hit that with a bullet?" he questioned.

"With ease," she said, taking the piece of paper from him and tossing it in the trash can beside her.

They heard footsteps and looked up to see Gracia walking toward them in her wedding dress. Gracia stepped upon the box in front of the mirror as the seamstresses scurried around her, reminding Roy of squirrels gathering nuts for the winter.

"You look beautiful Gracia," Riza said.

"Maes is going to pass out when he sees you," Roy replied.

"You'll make sure to catch him won't you?" she asked.

"Of course, that is what I am there for after all."

"I never knew that was the purpose of a best man sir," Riza said.

"It is when you are Maes's best man. Standard best man duties are just the beginning when it comes to him."

That comment caused Roy and Gracia to laugh and Riza to chuckle. She felt sort of awkward among Gracia and Roy and wasn't really sure why. It just seemed like she didn't belong there. It was as if Gracia and Maes were part of his life that she just didn't fit into.

"That means that if I start to run away, it is the Maid of Honor's job to grab me by the hair of the head and drag me back to the altar."

"Will do," Riza replied.

**(-)**

Roy and Riza left the shop after making sure Gracia didn't need a ride home and made their way into the car. They got in the vehicle and made their way back to their apartment building.

"Gracia looked beautiful in her dress didn't she?" Riza questioned.

Roy looked over at his wife and smiled. "She did look beautiful, but not as beautiful as you did at our wedding."

Riza turned to look at him, eyebrow raised. "That's not funny," she said as he pulled into the parking lot at their apartment building.

"I didn't mean it to be funny. What would be funny about it?" Roy questioned, as they walked up to their apartments. Riza opened the door to hers and they went inside. He watched as she hung up her purse and coat and walked into the kitchen. Roy hung up his own coat and then followed her. He leaned against the doorframe as he watched her fill a kettle with water and set it on the stove burner.

"I meant it you know," he said."You were the most beautiful thing-" she cut him off.

"Stop being silly," she said with a chuckle. "I was a dirty mess. We'd been scouting the city all day that day."

He walked over to stand beside her as she took some tea out of the cabinet. When she sat the box down on the counter, he took her hand and intertwined their fingers. "I don't care about that. To me you were beautiful. Sure, I would have loved to see you in a white dress with a veil but you didn't need them to be beautiful."

She smiled softly and moved her hand out from under his. She made two cups of tea and handed one to him. He took her hand that wasn't holding the cup and led her into the living area. They sat down on the couch and Riza cuddled up against his side.

The two stayed silent as minutes ticked by, both in deep thought about the time they were married. While it wasn't exactly legal since the certificate couldn't be submitted to the country records, to them it was completely valid. To them it meant more than any vow they'd ever taken in their lives and any vow that they ever would take.

"Do you ever regret that we couldn't have a wedding like Maes and Gracia?" Roy asked, breaking up their inner musings in favor of an outward conversation.

"I guess I'd like to have one," she said, "but I don't really need it."

Roy kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer. "When I am fuehrer and that stupid fraternization law is gone, let's have a wedding. A very proper one with you in a gorgeous white dress, me in a suit, a wedding party, flower girls, and Maes as a best man of course."

"A best man is part of the wedding party, why the distinction?"

"Think about it, Maes is a wedding accessory all on his own," Roy said, a small laugh lacing his tone.

"Yes, I suppose you are right. You can't forget that he'd want to be the photographer too," Riza said.

"Yeah," he replied. "After the wedding we could have a hell of a reception with good food and lots of dancing." Roy sat his mug down on the side table and stood. He took Riza's mug and sat it down before taking her hand and pulling her to her feet. He wrapped his arms around her waist and danced. He moved his lips to her ear. "And we could have a proper honeymoon in a nice exotic place."

Riza kissed his cheek and wrapped her arms around his neck. "What if I don't want to marry you again?" she teased, knowing Roy would recognize the lilt in her voice.

"Then I would be one unhappy man," he said.

"You are an idiot."

"And you love me despite that," he said and kissed her forehead.

"I can't deny that," she replied.

* * *

**Author's Personal Code: RW 2009 **


	6. Wedding Day

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 6: Wedding Day**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA**

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* * *

**

**Wedding Day**

Roy studied his best friend for a moment and grinned. He didn't think it was possible for Maes to become more hyper than normal, but upon seeing the way he was currently acting, he discovered he was wrong.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Roy said. He couldn't resist asking the question. It was almost a standard best man inquiry.

"Of course I do! Unlike you, I am not commitment phobic and I want to settle down with someone. I think it is long overdue," Maes said, straightening his bowtie and flashing a smile upon seeing his reflection.

Roy smirked inwardly. He would love to be able to tell Maes that he wasn't the first to settle down; that he and Riza had been involved longer than he and Gracia. Sometimes, he was tempted to ask Riza if they could tell them, for several reasons, mainly so that Maes would stop nagging him. However, he knew that it would be much better if they were kept in the dark. Then if their marriage was discovered, Maes and Gracia could honestly say that they didn't know anything about it.

Maes turned around and smiled widely. "Thanks for everything buddy!" Maes exclaimed and grabbed Roy, hugging him tightly while of complete joy rolled down his cheeks and dripped down onto his bowtie.

"Maes…can't…breathe...!" Roy wheezed out causing Maes to instantly let go of him.

"Sorry buddy," he said.

"Don't worry about it," Roy replied as he tried to catch his breath. "Just don't hug Gracia that hard after you say your vows. She might lose consciousness."

"Is noted," Maes replied.

**(-)**

Riza was in the bride's dressing room helping Gracia get ready, the bridesmaids were busy handling other matters that needed tended to, leaving Riza to talk with Gracia. Gracia was wringing her hands, entangling them with her ivory handkerchief.

Riza stopped pinning Gracia's veil and turned the woman around so that they were face to face. "What is wrong with you? You are being so fidgety."

"What if I am making a mistake?" she said. The question caught Riza completely off guard. She never thought Riza would ask such a thing.

"What do you mean mistake?" Riza restated to make sure she heard Gracia correctly.

"What if he's not the one? What if it doesn't work out? What if-"

"What if it does work out?" Riza interrupted. "Gracia, the most important thing is whether you love him or not. Do you think he loves you? Do you love him?"

"Of course, I know he loves me and I love him more than anyone else in the world," she stated, and smiled softly.

Riza turned Gracia back toward the mirror and continued pinning her veil. "Then that is what matters. No one knows what the future holds so you need to treasure what you have in the present. None of us could be here tomorrow."

"You are right," she said. "Thank you Riza."

"You just have cold feet and all brides go through that," Riza said confidently. "Now, I have some other things to take care of." Riza turned to leave the room when Gracia's next question stopped her in her tracks. Her stomach sank as the older woman spoke the words Riza always hoped she'd never hear until things were safe.

"Were you like that when you and Roy got married?"

Riza took a deep breath and formed her facial expression into one of extreme puzzlement. She turned around and looked straight at Gracia.

"Don't give me that look Riza," Gracia said. "Sit down for a minute." Gracia sat down on the stool situated in front of the mirror and watched as Riza walked over to sit on a chair by the door.

"You are confusing me," Riza said. It wasn't a complete lie: she was confused about how Gracia found out.

"I saw those rings on the necklace," Gracia explained, "and they were wedding rings."

Riza kept the puzzled look on her face and spoke. "Are they that noticeable?"

"No, not really. You see, when you were trying on the dress, I saw you take them off and hide them in your purse."

Riza nodded and quickly ran excuses for the rings through her head and finally a mental bell went off when she discovered the perfect one. Riza faked a laugh that would sound real to anyone except Roy.

"What in the heck makes you think that Lieutenant Colonel Mustang and I are married? Just because you saw rings? That's not really good reasons to jump to conclusions Gracia," Riza said, lacing a chuckle in with her sentences like a gifted actress playing a role on stage. "Besides, you know about the fraternization laws of the military. We could be decommissioned or court-martialed if we were married and it was discovered. Surely, with Roy's goals being what they are, you wouldn't think we'd risk something like that."

"With convincing from Roy, I think you would," Gracia said.

"I don't understand why you'd think the Lieutenant Colonel would even give me a second look Gracia. He is a womanizer remember? Besides, have you ever seen anything between us that even hints that we are anything except good friends?"

"Of course I have," she answered.

"Such as?"

"It's not noticeable when you are in uniform, but when you two aren't working it is very obvious. Only to friends though. I don't think the average person on the street would notice how deep your feelings are."

"I think your cold feet are affecting your brain," Riza said.

"Riza, the way you two look at each other when you think no one is looking speaks volumes. Also, you had to notice the way that Roy stared at you when you came out in that dress you are wearing now. He looked like he wanted to carry you off."

"Everyone liked me in that dress," she said.

"Not everyone was looking at you the same way he was. The other men were looking at you rather lustfully. Roy was looking at you as if he was seeing the most beautiful thing in the world."

"Okay, now you are just being silly. To wrap things up, I am not married to the Lieutenant Colonel," she said. "Those rings belonged to my mother."

"Really?" she questioned.

"Of course," Riza replied and stood. "Besides, do you honestly think I could stand being with someone like the Lt. Colonel? He's too much of a womanizer and procrastinator. We are completely incompatible."

Gracia laughed. "I guess you are right. You two really don't match."

Riza nodded and opened the door to the dressing room. "I will see you later, I have a few things to take care of," she said and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Gracia stared at the blue door and a small smile came to her face.

"I never knew Riza was such an exquisite liar."

**(-)**

Riza growled inwardly as she made her way down the hall and toward the area where the guests would soon be arriving. She couldn't believe that Gracia had said those things. The woman had caught on to more than she ever thought was possible. Riza had to use every acting ability she had in her arsenal of skills to even remotely convince Gracia that her suspicions were unwarranted. Even now, she wasn't entirely convinced that Gracia believed her. She was certainly a perfect match for Maes: she was just as inquisitive as he was.

"Miss Hawkeye!" a voice shouted. Riza stopped and turned toward the voice to see a young man running toward her. Riza recognized him as one of the men in charge of setting up tables and chairs in the reception area.

"Can I help you?" she questioned as the he stopped in front of her. "I was told to give this to you," he said, handing her a tan slip of paper.

"Oh, I see," she said. "Thank you very much."

He nodded and quickly rushed back to the reception area to continue working. Riza opened the note and saw that it was from the wedding planner. She turned toward the hall on the right where the planner wanted to meet her, and began walking.

She'd walked halfway when she heard her name called in a familiar whisper. She turned around and looked toward a door that was cracked open slightly. Someone was peaking out of it and she instantly recognized the onyx eye and dark hair. She walked over to the door and was quickly jerked into the small closet.

The door shut behind her and she heard a lock click. She noticed that the room she thought was a closet turned out to be a costume room for the center that they were in. She looked around and saw several stacks of boxes covered with a light film of dust and tons of clothing that had been quickly hung without any sense of organizational concern.

"Finally, I get to see you," a voice said. Roy clicked on the light and it flickered slightly before casting the room in a very faint glow that one would find useless if they were to try to read the labels on the costumes. Riza turned and, as expected, saw that the person that jerked her into the room was her husband. She gazed at him and smiled softly. He was in his tux, which was tailored perfectly to fit his muscular body. It was certainly a pleasant sight to see.

He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her body before pressing her against him softly.

"What are you doing in here?" she questioned, unconsciously relaxing in his embrace.

"Waiting for you to walk by," he answered.

"Roy, as much as I would like to stay with you here, I have things to do before the wedding starts. I got a note from the-"

"Me," he interrupted.

"Huh?" she questioned, quite confused.

"I made that note with alchemy and used a copy of the wedding planner's handwriting to do it so you'd walk by here. I knew you probably wouldn't come here if it was mine, plus, it would be too suspicious."

"Well aren't you a tricky one," she said while shaking her head and chuckling. She reached up and cupped the side of his face gently.

A smirk appeared on his face as he brought it closer to hers. "You know you love it," he replied. He brought his head down to her neck and nuzzled it. Taking a deep breath, he growled then sighed in pleasure. "You smell so damn good. I wish you wouldn't wear that scent in public. If it makes me feel like this then I can only imagine what it makes other men feel like."

"Jealous much?" she questioned.

"Always," he said. He pulled away from her and let his gaze rake her entire form appreciatively. He frowned when he saw that she wasn't wearing her rings. She noticed the look and instantly knew why he had it.

"You know I can't wear them with this dress. It's cut too low. They are in my purse," she said, holding up a small light blue pouch that went with the dress.

Roy grinned and nodded. "I figured that, so I got you this," he said while removing a long box from his pocket and handing it to her. She looked surprised at the sudden gift. She took the velvet box from his grasp and opened it slowly to reveal a gold chain with a diamond charm in the shape of the letter R.

"R for Riza?" she questioned.

"That's what everyone can think, but to me it stands for Roy. It means you are my wife and belong to me," he said. He took the necklace and put it around her neck and easily clasped it. He straightened the R at the front so that the diamonds faced forward.

"I belong to you?" she questioned.

Roy pulled her into his arms once more. "Yes, you belong to me but I belong to you as well so everything is even. You can wear this when you can't wear your rings."

"I bet no one would ever imagine that you could be so damned sappy. They would never believe that you are a real romantic and not the playboy that your reputation displays."

He kissed her briefly. "Well no one would believe that you aren't the gun loving ice queen either." He kissed her lips again and then moved to her jaw line. "They wouldn't expect that you are such a lady like woman. That you like dressing up, makeup, jewelry, romance novels, flowers, and cooking." He kissed her jaw once, nipping it slightly with his teeth. "I guess we have everyone fooled pretty well."

"Humm…I guess," she said softly. Roy recognized the far away tone in which she spoke and raised his head to see a small frown on her face.

"I'm sorry. I didn't say that to hurt your feelings," he said. She shook her head and pulled away from him. She walked over to lean against a white wooden box. "It's not that," she said. "You reminded me of something. Gracia caught me off guard today."

"What'd she do?" Roy questioned. It disturbed him when someone caught his wife off guard: which was a feat in and of itself.

"She asked me if I got cold feet when I married you," Riza said.

Roy paled slightly and his eyes widened. "What in the hell? How did she find out about us?"

"She said she saw my rings on the day of the fitting. I managed to convince her that they belonged to my mother, but if she's anything like Maes, I'm betting she's still doubtful of that."

Roy paced a few times, only managing a few feet each way because of the clutter, then stopped. He looked at Riza and blinked. "Wow, imagine their kids if they have any…" he said, not having much concern about what Gracia said to Riza.

Riza looked into his eyes for a moment then they both shuttered at the thought of little Maes and Gracia's running around with cameras and questions.

"I am sure there's nothing to worry about. Even if Gracia has her suspicions I don't' think she'll voice them out to anyone else."

"Yeah, you are probably right," Riza said as she walked toward the door. "I should get back to Gracia and you should get back to Maes before someone starts looking for us."

Roy moved his hand to the knob and made sure the door was locked. He smirked at her causing her to take a step back. Roy kept approaching her until she was backed against the white box she was previously leaning against.

Roy moved his hands to her hips and lifted her to sit on top of it, before moving his lips to her chest, causing her to squeak.

"Roy!"

"What?" he questioned between his activities of anointing her chest with kisses.

"We can't, not now," she whispered; her resolve weakening as his hands trailed to her back and began slowly unzipping her dress.

"But I want you," he whispered. He put such a plea in his voice that Riza had to whimper and give in. She rested her hand on his shoulders and squeezed them gently, a wordless acceptation of his advances.

**-LM-**

He moved his head away from her chest and looked at her for a moment before her lips collided with his. Her hands move to the buttons of his tuxedo coat as his tongue slid into her mouth to meet against hers, the rough skin of them rubbing against one another, imitating what they wanted to do with their lower bodies.

Roy pulled away and began nibbling at her collar bone as he shrugged off his jacket and threw it on a shelf. She finally felt the back of her dress loosen and Roy's hands moving up to her shoulders. He slowly moved the sleeves down her arms, the fabric trailing slowly down her warm skin and cooling as the air of the room hit it. He slowly let his fingers linger after the fabric, creating chills that caused her to bite her lip. Soon, the top of the dress fell to her waist revealing her breasts to Roy. He kissed the top of her right breast as one of his hands cupped the left. She arched as his mouth trailed down and covered her nipple.

She whimpered his name as he moved the hand cupping her breasts down to slide under her dress and up her thighs, skimming silky skin on their journey to their destination.

**-LM-**

Suddenly, the wedding planner's voice broke up their actions. "Has anyone seen the maid of honor?" They heard outside, her voice was faint, indicating that she was in the main hall instead of directly outside the door.

"Damn it," she said. She wanted Roy just as much as he wanted her. He pulled his mouth away from her breasts and cursed. He looked up at her face and moved his lips to cover hers, kissing her roughly. She groaned as he lifted her off the box and pulled her against him, her breasts pressing against his chest. She pulled away and smiled. "I don't want to go either but I have to."

Roy nodded and moved away from her as she lifted her dress up to cover her chest. She turned her back to him and he zipped it up begrudgingly. He kissed the back of her neck and then wrapped his arms around her waist as she turned around.

"I promise we will continue this later," she said.

Roy nodded and cuddled her a bit longer. "You look beautiful, you know that right?"

"And you look so handsome."

"I look like a penguin," he stated flatly.

"You are my handsome penguin alchemist," she stated, lifting her hand to trail along his face. She kissed him quickly before pulling out of his embrace, unlocking, and opening the door. She checked the hall before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

"Penguin," Roy muttered, slipping his coat back on. He ran a hand through his hair and heaved a sigh. "Well, at least I am a handsome penguin."

* * *

**Author's Personal Code: RW 2009 **


	7. Making a Date: Part 1

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 7: Making a Date: Part I  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA**

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* * *

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**Making a Date**

The members of the bridal party lined up the behind the door of the area where the wedding ceremony to take place. Other girls were chatting happily with one another, excited about the events about to take place. Riza was standing beside Gracia, doing one of her main duties as Maid of Honor; she was trying to get the bride to calm down.

Gracia was fidgeting slightly and tapping her feet on the floor, making a clicking sound that was annoying the hell out of Riza. She made a mental note that if she were to act like this during her wedding to have Rebecca, her best friend, sedate her.

"Gracia, calm down," Riza said, "you've been planning this wedding for months."

"Riza! You are used to staying calm in pressure filled situations. You've had sniper training after all!" Gracia replied. She looked own at her feet then quickly looked back up. She looked like she suddenly reached some sort of epiphany. "I've got it!"

"You've got what?" Riza said, taking a step back in surprise at her sudden exclamation of discovery.

"I can take sniper training and then I can face this," she said.

Riza nearly fell over at her declaration. "Gracia, I wouldn't have gone through that if it hadn't been a necessity. Besides, I don't even think Maes would wait for you to do that."

Gracia's looked at her quizzically, the expression causing Riza to chuckle lightly. "Just take a deep breath and remember that you are marrying the man you love in just a few minutes. That is something that you've always wanted right?"

Gracia stared at Riza for a moment then smiled beautifully. "Yes, you are right. Thank you Riza."

Riza nodded and moved to stand in front of her, her back toward Gracia.

"Oh my god! What if I faint," Gracia said fearfully.

Riza sighed and without turning around Riza spoke, "Maes will catch you!"

"What if he misses?"

"Then I'll catch you," Riza said, raising her voice. "Now calm down!" She spoke in such an authoritative voice that Gracia instantly calmed down.

The doors to the ceremony room opened and the bridesmaids began to file inside and gather at the front of the hall.

Riza walked through the door after the bridesmaids and spotted Maes and Roy standing at the front of the room. Her eyes met Roy's and she felt like it was her wedding and for a moment she had to remind herself that it wasn't.

**(-)**

When Roy saw her walk through that door, he thought he was going to have a heart attack. She was a knockout in that dress. Sure, he saw her in it during the fitting and during the closet incident but in this light really brought out every feature of her body and the dress. Roy wanted to push Maes out of the way and marry Riza right there.

Riza stepped upon the small step at the altar and took her proper place. The wedding march then began to play and everyone stood. Gracia came through the doors; her father was against her marrying a military man so he refused to come. There was no one else she wanted to walk her down the aisle so she chose to walk it on her own.

She looked stunning as she walked down the aisle, her pure white dress shimmering in the gold lights of the hall. She arrived to stand beside Maes and handed Riza her bouquet, before joining hands with the love of her life. Then the ceremony began.

Riza silently recited the justice's words in her head; remember them from when she married Roy years ago. She stared over at him and just by the look he was directing toward her, she knew he was repeating them as well. When the justice said, "You may kiss the bride" Maes smiled widely and kissed Gracia.

When they finally parted, the justice said, "I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Maes Hughes." Everyone began clapping and Maes and Gracia were beaming: practically radiating happiness. Maes and Gracia walked out of the ceremony hall and Roy walked over to Riza and extended his arm, as proper conduct. She intertwined her arm with his and he escorted her out of the room.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," she replied.

**(-)**

At the reception, everyone was waiting for the bride and groom to arrive. According to the wedding planner, Maes and Gracia were fifteen minutes later. Roy joked to the room that Maes and Gracia decided to get an early start on the honeymoon, which caused laughter to explode though the reception hall.

Riza was standing with Maria a bit away from the table and chuckled. Riza's smiled changed to a frown when Maria said, "Broch, won the bet."

Riza hated when people bet on things like weddings. "What bet?" she growled.

"The beat he made with Edmund Carnell that Roy would hit on one of the bridesmaids before Maes and Gracia got here."

Riza glanced at Roy who was actively chatting up Marcel. Even though she knew his interests were faked and he felt nothing for the girl, it didn't keep her from getting jealous. She thought she'd prepared herself for the flirting he would no doubt do to keep up appearances, but she was wrong. It hurt her to see him like that.

Denny approached Riza and Maria, grinning widely. "I won! They are going on a date Friday night. The strange thing is, Marcel asked him and he accepted. It was really something else."

Maria started to say something about Riza's frown but Edmund walked up to Denny and slipped him a bit of cash.

"Good call, I thought he'd at least wait a bit first," Edmund said.

"Thanks," Denny replied.

Edmund then turned to Riza and smiled.

"Long time no see beautiful," he said, with a wide smile. Maria and Denny was surprised that anyone would address Riza that way. They looked at Riza and saw her smile at him, once again, causing them to be incredibly surprised. "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to make it to the fitting to speak with you."

Maria leaned over and whispered in Riza's ear, "No fitting yet that tux fits like a glove in all the right places."

Riza chuckled at her friend and then moved to hug Edmund.

"It's good to see you again," she said, when she pulled away.

Edmund was one of a handful of people that Riza was very fond of. He was genuinely a really good guy.

He had been a sniper in Ishbal and they'd spent many nights in front of the campfire speaking about various subjects. He was also the one that gave her an amazing alcohol concoction that helped clear out her throat and relax her.

She was pretty sure that if she hadn't been in love with Roy so much that she would have ended up with him and ended up leaving the military. He'd left directly after the Ishbalian war and now owned the biggest gun making company in Amestris. He once mentioned to her that no matter what he did with them in the past, guns were a love of his and always would be. She agreed wholeheartedly with the statement. Shooting was a release for her as well and something she would always love doing.

Before they could speak further the wedding planner walked into the area and took the microphone where the band was preparing to play.

"Everyone to your proper places please. The bride and groom are coming," she said.

"Shall we go?" Edmund asked Riza, holding out his arm to her like a perfect gentlemen.

"Go for it," Maria whispered in her ear. She really wanted her friend to find a good man and Edmund certainly did match her.

"Certainly," Riza said replied to him and they moved over to the wedding party's table. He guided her to sit across from Roy and Marcia. Edmund pulled his arm away from her and stunned Riza when he pulled out her chair for her to sit before taking a seat himself. Roy never did anything like that for her. In fact, no man ever did.

"Thank you," she said, smiling at him.

"You are welcome," he said.

Roy, who obviously was watching the exchange, was greatly annoyed by the actions. If that Edmund guy was trying to pick up his wife then he was going to be a barbequed groomsman. She was his and any man that tired anything like that would pay dearly.

"That was so sweet!" Marcel exclaimed, snapping Roy out of his thoughts. "I love when guys do that for girls," she said, referring to the way Edmund pulled Riza's chair out for her."

"I was only being a gentleman and being respectful to a beautiful lady," he said.

Riza blushed slightly at the comment. Edmund had always treated her as a lady but he never discriminated against her when they were comrades. He was just about the perfect guy.

She looked over at Roy and chuckled inwardly when she noticed the look on his face. She took pride that she could read him so well. He was incredibly jealous of Edmund and it both amused her and made her furious. Why was he able to flirt and carry on but if someone merely paid her a compliment or showed interest he was ready to jump down the man's throat?

If she were to act that way toward him then he would try to brush it off. Well, she deserved to have a bit of fun too. While obviously, she wanted no relationship with men but she got asked out by male friends a lot but usually turned them down. Why should she be the one staying home when Roy went out? Sure, his stuff was mainly information drops but at the same time he had to keep up that playboy image but wouldn't it be more effective if she went out with friends too. She didn't want to date, it wasn't her thing but going out at times would be fun.

She decided that from now one when she was asked out she would accept on occasion.

Everyone stood and clapped as Maes and Gracia came through the door. Gracia was still in her wedding dress but the long train had been unattached and the veil was no longer on her head. They took their places at the table and everyone sat down again. After Gracia and Maes had their first dance the reception went on in full swing, with people dancing, drinking, laughing, and chatting. After a while it was time for the best man to give his toast to the bride and groom. Roy stood and taped his fork on his glass to get everyone's attention. When the room was quiet, Roy began to speak.

"When Maes first told me about Gracia he acted so loud and crazy that the only thing I wanted to do was belt him in the mouth," Roy began, causing everyone in the room to laugh. "Then, after a while, he talk about her so much that I just began thinking; marry the girl already. He was already a very happy go lucky guy before but after he met Gracia he was impossibly so. It was also around that time that I realized my intense hate for photographs," he said, and everyone made a noise of agreement that caused Maes to laugh.

Roy turned to Gracia. "Gracia, you are a wonderful lady and I am very happy that my best friend found such an amazing woman. Hopefully, now that you two live together, he will stop taking so many photos and attacking me with them. Maybe he'll even get that photo smell off of him."

Gracia laughed and nodded, when Maes looked at her oddly. He really did smell like photo ink.

"You are both examples of what great people are supposed to be. I wish you both the best in your new life together."

Everyone raised their glasses in a toast to the couple. Roy sat down and Marcel gave him a kiss on the cheek before he could pull out of the way. He didn't like it when women did that. He took out his handkerchief and pretended to wipe the sweat off his face. This was a gesture to Riza that he hadn't wanted that to happen.

Unfortunately she didn't see his gesture as she turned to Edmund and began speaking to him about something. He watched as she laughed with him when he made some comment he didn't get to hear because of Marcel's chattering. He knew however, that he didn't like it. She wasn't supposed to be laughing with another man. She was supposed to keep that cold front up in front of people. Roy sighed. He didn't like it at all but he couldn't really do anything about it. He'd be a hypocrite if he brought it up with her. Then, that fact blew out of his mind, it seemed like via his ears, when he heard Edmund's next sentence.

"Riza, I know you love the theater and I have tickets to the new play Ivy Red. Would like to go and see it Friday?"

Roy wanted to leap over the table and strangle the life out of him. He had the nerve to ask her out!

Riza didn't look at Roy, who she knew was fuming underneath his calm exterior. He was going on Friday with Marcel so she would go see that play. She'd been dying to see it for a while and could either, not afford the tickets on her Lieutenant's salary or they would be sold out.

"I would love to see it. I've wanted to see it for a while now," she said.

Roy's heart nearly burst when she accepted the invite. She didn't even take any time to think it over. Plus, why hadn't she told him she wanted to see it. With his connections there he could have gotten her tickets.

Before he could make a comment that he would regret, the bouquet throwing was announced. Riza remained in her chair as all the single women squealed and rushed up to the area. It wasn't really giving away the fact she was already married at all. She just wasn't the type to believe in stupid things like that and everyone there knew it.

"Aren't you going up there?" Edmund joked.

Riza laughed lightly and shook her head. "You know I don't believe in those silly superstitions and customs."

Roy looked at her oddly. Did Riza know Edmund? If she had then she never mentioned him.

As it turned out Riza didn't have to stand or even move an inch. Gracia threw the bouquet over the wannabe brides and it landed directly on Riza's lap. Everyone in the room laughed except Riza who sat looking at the bouquet disbelievingly. Her eyebrow twitched slightly at her stroke of luck.

"Looks like you are the next to get married," Edmund joked.

She glared at him. "Do you want this bouquet shoved down your throat?"

"No thanks, I'm allergic to flowers," he replied, causing her to laugh.

Roy frowned but was once again cut off from saying anything when there was an announcement for the garter throw. Roy didn't bother getting up.

"Aren't you going up there?" Edmund questioned him.

"No, I'm a confirmed bachelor," he lied. "Not interested. How about you?"

"No thanks. I'm not into the idea," he stood and moved his chair out of the direct path of the garter throw.

"Wish I would have thought of that," Riza said. He shot her a smile as she moved out of the way so she wouldn't get beamed. Roy stood to do the same when the garter hit him in the face. It fell and he automatically caught it in his hand.

Riza and Edmund began laughing at him, as did everyone else. Riza suddenly stopped laughing when Maes grabbed the microphone and said, "As per tradition, the man who caught the garter has to slide it up the leg of the woman who caught the bouquet.

"Shit! Goddamn Maes," she muttered. She glared at Edmund when he began laughing and he instantly shut up.

Riza frowned as Maria and Gracia grabbed her and made her sit in a chair in the middle of the dance floor. The groomsmen grabbed Roy but he shrugged them off and acted like he was angry that he had to do such a thing. In reality he rather enjoyed the idea.

He kneeled in front of Riza and grinned lightly as he removed her shoe. He slid the garter up her leg slowly, letting his fingers trail behind the garter and his thumbs rub her skin in small round circles. Everyone was laughing and shouting in amusement. He got the garter in the proper place and quickly brushed something he shouldn't have touched in public, causing her to have to keep herself from jumping.

Roy stood and everyone cheered. Riza stood and started to leave the floor as the music resumed and people began dancing. Before she took two steps, Maes grabbed her hand.

"This is the last dance. It wouldn't be proper if the Maid of Honor didn't' dance with the Best Man," he said and guided her to Roy roughly. She hit against him and stiffened.

"Shall we?" Roy asked, folding one arm around her waist and taking her hand in his. Riza loosened up and nodded as they began the slow dance.

"You haven't said anything to me this entire reception," Roy said.

"You seemed too busy making a date with Marcel.

"Speaking of date, what's with you agreeing to go to the theater with Carnell without asking me?"

Riza looked at him angrily. "What do you mean ask you? I don't recall you asking me if you could go out with Marcel before you accepted. That goes for any other girl for that matter."

"That's different," he said and then realized what a dumb answer that was. Unfortunately, it was the only thing he could think as she glared at him.

"What in the hell is different about it? Just because you are a man? Well you listen here Roy Mustang, there is no difference. I will go out with anyone I want," she growled. "I'm tired of staying home all the time."

"Okay okay, I'm sorry alright?"

"That wasn't sincere," she said.

"Yes it was, I swear," he said, spinning her around once and pulling her even closer. "Really, I am sorry. Just don't let him try anything. You know, don't let him get up your dress or…"

"What!" Riza growled incredulously. "I wouldn't do that and you know it! As for getting up a dress, you putting on that garter is the last time you are getting up my dress for a long time."

She pulled out of his arms as the song ended and stormed away from him, leaving a stunned Roy on the dance floor.

* * *

**Author's Personal Code: RW 2009 **


	8. Making a Date: Part 2

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 8: Making a Date: Part II **

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA **

**

* * *

Making a Date: Part II  
**

Soon the wedding was over and everyone saw Maes and Gracia off to their honeymoon. People were making their way home and Riza was walking out of the reception area when Edmund stopped her.

"Would you like me to give you a ride home?" he asked. Before Riza could answer, Roy walked up to the two of them.

"I couldn't help but overhear you Mr. Carnell," Roy said, making sure to call him Mr. instead of his first name that he preferred to be called. "We live in the same building so I'll take her home. No use in you going out of your way."

Riza narrowed her eyes slightly. She knew Roy was trying to create some sort of confrontation with Edmund which was rather childish. Roy was right though; there was no use in Edmund going out of his way.

"He's right," Riza relented, "I wouldn't want you to delay yourself getting home since it is getting late."

"Where is it you live?"

"The military apartments on Primis Avenue," she replied.

Roy wanted to yell at her for telling him her living location but refrained from doing so.

"Actually that's not out of my way. I go right past that avenue," he said. "Besides, Lt. Colonel Mustang, aren't you going to escort Miss Marcel home?" he questioned as he saw the woman running toward him.

"Roykins!" they heard Marcel yell. Roy cringed as she latched onto his arm. "You're taking me home aren't you?" Marcel asked, "I can promise you'll even enjoy yourself if you stay." She said the last part with a mischievous giggle. Roy looked at Riza who was displaying a mixture of disgust and jealously on her face. Of course, it wasn't obvious to Marcel and Edmund.

"You should take her home sir. Since Edmund is going by my place anyway and made such a kind offer, I think I will take him up on it. You go and enjoy yourself," she said, putting an evil glare in her eyes when she spoke the last sentence. A flare of jealous surged through his body at the mere thought of Riza in the same vehicle as Edmund. "Goodnight sir, I will see you tomorrow morning," she said, giving a slight salute to him even though they weren't in uniform.

Riza and Edmund turned around and headed in the direction of his car. Edmund placed a hand on the small of her back as they walked and led her to the proper car.

For the second time that night, Roy wanted to make barbeque out of the man. That was one of his favorite spots to touch Riza. She was particularly sensitive there, so much so that when he caressed it or kissed it when they made love she would release this soft little sigh or sometimes even a whimper. It irked him that Edmund took the liberty to touch her there, even though it really wasn't that much of a big deal.

"Roy, come on," Marcel said. "It's getting really cold."

He nodded and led her to the car. "You know, it is getting late, you could stay over if you wanted," she suggested as they got into the car and drove down the road.

Of course, Roy declined the offer to stay the night and quickly drove back home. He hurried up to Riza's apartment, took the spare key he had, and opened the door. He was greeted by a dark apartment, a sign that Riza had already gone to bed. He shut the door behind him and locked it. After taking off his coat, tux jacket, and shoes, he headed to her bedroom. He was surprised to see that the bedside lamp was on and the bed was vacant. The sheet and blanket was turned down but not rumpled enough to indicate that she'd been lying down.

"I thought she was going to make you enjoy yourself."

Roy turned around and smiled when he saw that she was dressed in one of his dress shirts and her hair was wet from her recently taken shower. She walked over to her dresser to get a comb so that she could comb the tangles out of it. She picked it up, only to have Roy take it from her and begin combing it for her.

"Come on, you know I would take her officer," he said as he finished with her hair. He sat the comb on the dresser and turned her around, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Your hair is growing out," he said, then kissed her forehead.

"Yes," she said, "a bit."

"Going to let it grow?" he questioned.

"I don't know yet," she said and moved out of his embrace. She went to sit down on the bed where the covers were turned down and he went to sit down beside her.

"Lay down on your stomach," he said. He was quite pleased about how their conversation was going. They were simple short spurts that spoke volumes about how relaxed they were around each other. It also made him relaxed to get away from the conversation about Marcel. God, he didn't know why of all people he felt compelled to accept her date request.

"Why do you want me to do that?" Riza questioned.

Roy quickly turned his head to kiss her neck. "Trust me," he said.

Riza looked at him skeptically but did as he asked.

He trailed his hand up her shirt and rested his hand on the small of her back. He began rubbing it gently and she relaxed significantly. He leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"He touched you there," he said. "I didn't like it."

Riza laughed lightly. "It wasn't like he was trying to seduce me. It was a simple gesture, nothing more."

"Yeah well…" he said, trailing off when he didn't know what to say further. He lifted up the shirt, and kissed that place on her back before putting it back down. He looked at her and smiled as he saw that she was relaxing. She opened her eyes when he stopped stroking the spot. She turned to rest on her back and sat up on her knees. She kissed him gently on the lips then moved her legs under the covers.

"It's been a long day. Goodnight," she said as she lay down. He reached over to stroke her cheek. He moved her hair behind he ear and scooted closer to her so that he could lean down and kiss her.

He felt her arms wrap around his neck and she began kissing back. His arms moved toward her breasts and suddenly felt her hands stop him.

"No," she said, shocking Roy. She'd never stopped him from touching her before. He moved his hands to her hips and began massaging them as his lips went to her neck. She bit her lip to hold back a moan. It was incredibly hard to turn him down since she enjoyed their nightly sex just as much as he did: if not more. However, she told him he wouldn't get up her dress for a while and she meant it. Of course, the while would only be a few nights. She didn't think she could do that long without him either. "Go get some sleep Roy," she said.

"You really meant what you said at the wedding reception?" he questioned, pulling away from her.

"Yes I did," she replied. "Go to your place and get some sleep." She turned off the lamp and turned her back to him.

"Fine," Roy muttered and left the bedroom, then her apartment, making sure close the door and locked it behind him.

He muttered a few curses under his breath as he entered his apartment and shut the door behind him. He went directly to his bathroom to take a shower. A few minutes later he emerged from the bathroom dressed in a pair of pajamas. He went and crawled into his own huge bed and muttered to himself about how big it was and how it just didn't feel right. He also smelled the familiar scent of the herbal shampoo that Riza used and that made him long for his wife.

He tossed and turned several times before he sat up and cursed aloud. When he moved to the other side of the bed, he realized the scent was even more dominate. It didn't even occur to him that Riza's scent would be stronger on that side of the bed since that's where she often slept: his mind wasn't exactly working at optimum capacity.

He threw back the covers and stood. On his way to the living room he grabbed a spare pillow and blanket from a closet and made up a bed on the couch. He lay down and shifted to get into as comfortable position as possible before falling into an uneasy sleep.

**(-)**

Roy groaned as he popped his neck and shoulders as he walked through the halls of headquarters. "Stupid couch," he muttered silently. "Stupid Riza." He popped his arms and grumbled. "Stupid can't get laid for a long time rule." He finally arrived at his office quarters. He walked through the door to the main part of the office and saw that everyone was working diligently on the day's paperwork.

"You're late sir," a voice said from behind him. He turned around and came face to face with the reason for his lousy night.

Riza walked past him and over to a table. She sat down the folders she was carrying and began to sort them into various piles.

"Yeah, I didn't get much sleep last night," he said, "my mind was preoccupied."

"You were preoccupied all right but I don't believe it was your mind. I saw you take Marcel home last night chief," Havoc stated, looking up from his work. "Is she the wildcat that she's rumored to be?"

"Enough of that," Riza said, "That kind of talk belongs in a bar, not at work."

She made her way into the adjacent office that she shared with Roy, carrying a stack of manila file folders in her arms.

"How about it chief? Up for going to the bar tonight?"

"I can't, I have another engagement," he stated.

"It's canceled sir, don't you remember?" Riza shouted from the other room. "I marked it off your schedule."

Roy's frowned. "We need to discuss this," he said and made his way into the office. He shut and locked the door and then turned to look at Riza. She was at the filing cabinet putting some of the folders in their proper destinations, her hazel gaze focused completely on the task before her.

"What in the hell did you mean?" Roy questioned.

"I mean there will be none of those engagements for a long time. I thought I told you that at the wedding."

"But… I didn't think you meant it. I thought that it was just for last night. That you wouldn't stick to that. Besides, you kissed me last night."

Riza looked up from her work. "I kissed my husband goodnight. That is nothing out of the ordinary and implies nothing other than I love you and goodnight."

"But we could at least sleep together. I mean actually sleep too!"

She quirked an eyebrow at him, "We don't keep separate apartments for nothing, Sir," she said. "Besides, you can never just sleep in the same bed with me unless you are dead tired. At the very least, your hands have to linger. It's in your nature."

She closed the file cabinet and went over to her desk with a few pieces of paper. She sat down, took a pen from its holder, and began signing the forms in front of her.

Roy stood there speechless as she began doing her work. She was right of course; it was difficult for him to keep his hands off her. Still, he couldn't sleep without having her beside him; last night was pure torture on his sleeping pattern. He'd become so accustomed to holding her against him that not doing it threw his entire body out of whack.

He walked behind her and bent over, resting his chin on her shoulder. Riza smirked slightly and looked at him with a sideward glance.

"That action isn't proper in an office," she said.

"No one is around," Roy replied. "You know I am not careless enough to do this if there was a chance of discovery. The blinds are pulled and the door is locked. Besides, it's not like we are having a tryst in here."

"You'd probably try to if you thought you could," she replied, adding another form to the finished pile.

"Oh I probably could without getting caught."

"I'm not talking about getting caught. I'm talking about if you could convince me to do it," she said.

Roy reached up to move her collar so that he could kiss her neck gently. "Are you saying I couldn't?"

"You couldn't without extending the no sex rule," she answered.

He instantly stopped his kisses and stood straight. "You are the most stubborn woman I've ever known, you know that?" he stated and walked over to his desk.

"Eh," Riza replied, nonchalantly. When she heard Roy's chair squeak under his weight as his sat down and his pen scratching on paper, she ventured peak at him. His eyebrows were furrowed and his lips were frowning, making him visually frustrated. Seeing this look coming from him made a slight grin appear on her lips. Sex or lack thereof, was one of the things that frustrated him the most and she had him wrapped around her finger when it came to that.

**(-)**

Later that night, Roy lay in bed, tossing and turning. Riza's scent was everywhere and it was killing him. Every time he would finally be able to nod off, he would reach across the bed for her and it would be void. Then it would take another hour for him to nod off only to have the same thing happen. He closed his eyes and sighed. He didn't think he could take much more of this.

Suddenly, his ears perked when he heard footsteps coming toward the bedroom. He sat up and grabbed his gloves. He started putting them on when a voice spoke, "I don't think you'll need those unless you want me to leave."

He looked up at the doorway to see Riza standing there in her pajamas. She walked over to him and sat beside him on the bed. She took his hand, took the glove off it, and laid it on the nightstand. She stood and walked over to the opposite side of the bed. She lifted up the heavy black comforter and crawled under it, Roy looking at her oddly.

"You going to hold me or not?" she questioned.

Roy smiled widely and cuddled back under the comforter. He wrapped his arms around Riza's waist and scooted closer to her. She started to speak but trailed off when she heard his light snore, indicating he was asleep. She laughed and turned in his arms, resting her head against his chest. Now, maybe she could get some sleep too. Roy wasn't the only one that had trouble sleeping when they weren't together.

**(-)**

Roy growled and leaned back in a black leather chair as he waited for Riza to get ready for her date. Friday had come too soon for his liking and he really didn't want her to go out with another man despite the fact that he was going out with Marcel.

"Are you really going to go through with this date?" Roy asked loudly so that she could hear him from her bedroom where she was getting ready.

"Of course I am going to go through with it. It wouldn't be polite for me to cancel now," she said.

Roy sank further in his chair and growled again. He distantly wondered if she felt like this when he went out. Of course, trust wasn't an issue for either of them; they knew the other would never be unfaithful. What was an issue was the fact that she would be out with a man on a date and the public would assume it was serious. When he went out, due to his reputation, people knew it wasn't a big deal. The look on his face during the dates was enough to display his disinterest if they didn't know who he was and about his playboy persona. The majority of his dates bored him to death.

"First, I don't get laid all this week, the paperwork at the office is getting to heart attack stress levels and now she's going on a date with Mr. Car…Car…Caramel! Then I realize how she feels when I go out. Could this week get any worse?"

He stood and walked over to the window, looking out at the slowly darkening sky. He turned around when he heard foots steps and narrowed his eyes when he saw Riza. She was wearing a black figure hugging dress with a split up the right side, displaying a generous portion of her leg. The black gloves she was wearing extended up to her elbows, and she was clutching a black handbag just big enough to contain her handgun. She had a black choker necklace around her neck and her hair was pinned back in a twist. There was a small black jacket with the dress so that her back wasn't visible.

Riza blinked when she saw the displeased look on his face. "Do I look that bad?" she questioned.

"That's my dress," he snapped. It was his favorite dress she had, and one of the few pieces that she let him pick out.

Riza quirked an eyebrow at him; that comment just had to be countered

"Really now, I don't think it will fit you. But if you want to try it on then you can," she said with a laugh.

"You know perfectly well what I mean?" he said as he walked over to her.

She smiled and leaned in to kiss his cheek. She turned around and walked over to the mirror on the wall to adjust her necklace. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He moved his face to the back of her neck and took a deep breath, taking in the scent of perfume that she wore.

His right hand slowly slid down her body and through the slit in her dress to rest at her inner thigh. He bit the back of her neck as he began rubbing her leg, causing her to writhe slightly. She felt him touch her through her silk underwear causing her to bite her bottom lip.

"You like that huh?" he teased.

"Of course," she said, bucking her hips slightly as he applied more pressure to her body.

"If you cancel the date, we can continue," Roy said.

Riza groaned and pulled away from him. She shook her head. "You have a date too you know?" She turned toward him and moved her hands up to straighten his tie.

"I'll cancel if you will," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and letting his hands rest lightly on her butt.

"No, and if you don't leave now you are going to be late." She walked away from him, going to the door. Roy grabbed his coat and slipped it on. He walked over to her and pulled her against him.

"I don't want to go now. I want us to stay here," he said.

Riza laughed. "I want to see this play, but when we get back we can have some fun. Alright?" she questioned.

Roy smirked. "That will be all I'll think about while I'm on this date."

"Careful, we wouldn't want everyone to know what you are thinking," she said pressing her lower body against his, implying what she meant by that statement.

"Oh, I'll be careful," he said with a grin.

* * *

**Author's Personal Code: RW 2009 **


	9. The Date

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 9: The Date**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own my plot and whatever OC's show up.**

**

* * *

**

**The Date**

Roy sighed as he made his way down the street, Marcel hanging on his arm as if she couldn't walk on her own. He went into his own mental world that he constructed to block out her chatting on topics he had no interest in. As normal on his dates, he found himself wishing that it were Riza hanging on his arm instead.

His thoughts drifted to his beautiful wife, who was on a date as well: much to his annoyance. She would never hang on his arm or any man's arm like Marcel was doing and that was what made her so wonderful. She would either be holding his hand or his arm would be wrapped around her shoulders or waist. She would be standing straight and prepared for anything that might happen that was out of the ordinary.

Riza was the furthest thing from the women he dated and it was for that very reason he loved her so much. She was a real woman, not one painted up and curved with silicone implants.

Riza was strong, beautiful, and loyal and he loved that no matter what, they belonged to each other. He was enjoying envisioning his imaginary date with his wife when Marcel broke him from his thoughts, creating a desire to take her home right then and there, and then go find Riza.

"Roy? Are you listening to me?" she asked, sounding slightly put out.

"Of course I was. That was very interesting," he said, not having a clue what she was chattering about and hoping that she didn't ask for further input on his part.

She smiled widely, cuddled against his arm, and nuzzled it with her cheek. "So where are we going to go tonight?" she questioned.

Roy froze. He didn't know what they were going to do. He was so worked up over Riza's date that he'd forgotten to plan anything out. He shrugged. There was always one quick line that would solve everything.

"Well I thought that I'd let you decide that," he said. As expected her smile widened, indicating that she was very pleased with his answer.

"Let's go watch a play! "Mailing All My Love to You" is being performed!"

Roy groaned inwardly at her selection. Riza mentioned once that she'd rather claw her eyes out with a rusted fork than go see it.

"I've heard about that. What's it supposed to be about?"

"Oh my god, it sounds amazing. You see this Greek messenger is sent into the future and falls in love with a mail-woman. Unfortunately, they can never be."

"Because he is from the past and she's from the future right?" he questioned. Those stories used the same old plot line.

"No silly! Because he doesn't understand the modern mail procedures and her boss refuses to hire him. Her father won't allow her to date anyone that is not a postal worker because postal workers are a tradition in that family."

"I see…sounds…great…" he managed to say about the hideous idea.

"Let's go then!" she said excitedly.

They made their way to the theater and, after a short wait, he purchased the tickets and they made their way inside the building. He looked at the posters as they made their way to the theater room where "Mailing All My Love to You" was being performed. Some of the other plays actually looked decent.

They arrived at their seats just as the play began. Roy looked around him to see several couples, the men looking bored already.

"Great, I'm in for a real treat," he muttered.

"Did you say something Roykins?" Marcel questioned.

"No, nothing at all."

**(-)**

Roy managed to stay awake during the first act; however, during the second he dozed on and off. Halfway through the third act he would have been asleep if Marcel hadn't been squeezing his arm in joy over what was happening on stage. He had no joy in his body until the intermission.

They left the theater room and Marcel excused herself to the ladies room. Roy leaned against the railing overlooking the lower lobby where people from the different theater rooms gathered to talk about the plays they were seeing or the local gossip. Most likely, it was the latter. He yawned loudly while noting that there was no one on the floor where he stood.

"You seem overjoyed to be here." He turned around to find his wife standing in front of him with a half smile on her face. He straightened up instantly and grinned. He never could tell when she snuck behind him, a testament to her sniper training.

"I am here seeing 'Mailing All My Love To You'" he groaned.

Riza cringed; she liked romantic plays but that one was too ridiculous. Roy looked around, grabbed her hand, and took her further down the hallway until they came to a darkened area. Before she had time to protest that they were in public, his lips were covering hers, and she was against the wall. He pulled away and started to kiss her neck.

"I want you so bad Riza," he groaned.

"Roy, we are in public!" she whispered breathlessly as he kissed the juncture where her neck and shoulders met.

Roy looked up and down the hallway. "I don't see any public," he muttered and started to close in on her lips again, but stopped when he noticed her clothing. She was in a red silk-like suit dress that fell to her knees. It was completely different from her previous dress.

"You changed," he said.

She nodded and smiled. He moved towards her lips again but out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed that the lights were flickering in the outer area, and indication that intermission was coming to an end. She placed two fingers on his lips, stopping his kiss.

"That will have to wait. The plays are starting back up."

"But!" Roy frowned then groaned. He buried his face in her neck once more.

"Roy, we've got to go back to our plays," she said. He moved away and sighed heavily.

She kissed his cheek, straightened his collar, and then left the dark hallway, feeling Roy's gaze on her until she turned the corner.

Roy groaned and reluctantly walked back to what he had decided to deem "the hell hole."

**(-)**

Roy walked Marcel back to her apartment after they had finished their dinner at the restaurant after the play.

"Would you like to come in? We could have some fun," she said suggestively. Roy could see the hopeful glint in her eyes, mixed with a good helping of lust. However, he had a wife at home and, even if he hadn't, Marcel just wasn't his type. There was such a thing as being too easy and stupid.

"I need to be going," he said. Before he knew what she was doing, she kissed him on the cheek while slipping something in his coat pocket.

"Call me!" she said and went into her apartment. Roy turned and started walking down the street. He took the number out of his coat pocket and tore it into little pieces.

"No way in hell lady. I wouldn't go out with you again even if I was single," he muttered to himself and threw the pieces into a nearby trashcan.

**(-)**

"I hope you had a good time," Edmund said, as he pulled up to Riza's apartment building.

"I did. The play was lovely and it felt good to get out a bit. I don't have much time due to work," she replied.

"How did Mustang react to you going out with me," Edmund questioned suddenly, a chuckle lacing his tone.

"Why would he react?"

"Oh come on Riza. You think I don't know that you two are in love with each other. I wasn't born yesterday you know," he replied.

She knew better than to try to lie to the man with her. He was an expert when it came to reading people. "Is it that obvious?" she questioned, relenting.

"No, not at all actually. It's just that I knew the man that was marrying soldiers during the war," he said.

She was shocked at the revelation. "So you know about…" she trailed off.

"Yeah," he smiled. "Too bad, I would have really liked going out with you. We have a lot in common after all."

She blushed then looked at him questionably. "Then why did you ask me out if you knew all along about Roy and me?"

"I saw him with Marcel so I figured you might like a bit of revenge. I figure there's a reason behind why he accepted but we won't get into that I suppose."

"You are right," Riza laughed.

"Oh which count? Revenge or reasons?"

"Both," she replied. "Correct on both counts."

"If you need anything at all, you contact me all right? I'll be there to help. It's no secret that Mustang wants to rise to the top," he said. "He has my support."

Riza smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "That means a lot…to both of us."

"How about we go hunting next Saturday? As friends of course. Mustang would bust a nut if you went on a hunting expedition without knowing we were only friends."

"I would love that," she said.

"All right then. See you next Saturday then," he said. She nodded and got out of the car, walking to the apartment building.

"Why is it that all the women like her are taken?" Edmund mumbled and drove away.

**(-)**

Roy sighed with relief as he walked into the apartment building where he and Riza lived. He quickly made his way to the elevator then up the stairs to the proper floor. Instead of going to his apartment, he went straight to Riza's place. He took out the key she gave him and unlocked the door before going inside and locking the door behind him. He flipped on the light and was surprised to see that no one was there.

"Riza? You home?" he called out, walking through the apartment and heading straight for her bedroom to see if she decided to turn in early and just didn't hear him. He was surprised when he found a piece of paper sitting on the bed. He picked it up and unfolded it, grinning as he read the message aloud. "I figured this would be the first place you'd look you pervert. Go to your apartment. Love, Riza."

Roy grinned and did as the letter instructed, making sure her apartment was locked securely before he went over to his own. After closing and locking his door behind him, he took off his leather gloves and sat them on the table beside the door before removing his coat and hanging it up. He heard the sound of bare feet walk across the floor and turned around. It took every bit of self-restraint that he possessed to keep his jaw from hitting the floor.

His eyes drifted from his wife's face, down her body and down to her legs before travelling back up again, his eyes moving to look into hers. He shook his head slightly, making sure he wasn't imagining things. She was wearing his dress shirt, looking oh so good in it. In fact, she looked so good that it was a shame that she couldn't wear it and only it for the rest of her life.

He grinned when Riza smiled and slowly sauntered up to him. She pressed her curves against his harder body, and placed a hand on his slightly sweaty forehead.

"Roy? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Never been better in fact," he said, his voice fading out as she pressed harder against him, pushing him against the door.

Riza grinned inwardly upon the success of having him flustered. When she'd gotten home, she'd decided that she'd be the one doing the seducing. She had to admit, the no sex for the week was just as hard on her as it was he. She reached up and played with the buttons on his shirt. "Are you sure?" she asked innocently. She popped open the first three buttons then bent down to kiss the exposed skin, biting it after the kiss, and then running her tongue along it.

"Yeah," he managed out, still in complete shock over Riza's actions. Usually he was the one seducing her; usually she'd be the one against the door. However, these actions of hers were far from unwelcomed.

"Are you sure you don't need a doctor. You feel so hot," she said, continuing to unbutton, kiss, bite, and lick all the way down until she popped open the last button and kissed the skin just above the waistline of his slacks. When she noticed that he was thoroughly turned on, she grinned mischievously. She suddenly stood up straight and pulled away from him.

"Do you want some tea?" she asked, turning around and walking into the kitchen like her actions weren't a big deal.

"Tea?" he questioned, standing there in absolute shock. How could she suddenly think of tea after doing…he trailed off when he realized exactly what she was doing.

Roy strode into the kitchen and moved behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed her lower body against his from behind her, making her feel the way her teasing had affected him. She grinned and pushed herself back against him roughly, causing him to groan.

"I was wondering how long it would take," she whispered, leaning her head back onto his shoulder.

He didn't reply as he began unbuttoning the shirt she was wearing. One of his hands moved to her shoulder, pulling the shirt off it, leaving a place for his lips to kiss her exposed skin. Riza moved her head to the side so that Roy could run his tongue down the length of her neck to the edge of her shoulder. He bit the edge of her shoulder before grabbing her chin with one hand and tilting her head so that he could kiss her fully on the lips. His other hand trailed up the side of her leg and slipped under her shirt.

She groaned as his hand drifted closer and closer to her center but then suddenly pulled away. Grabbing his hand tightly, she led him to their bedroom and over to the bed, pushing him down upon it roughly before crawling on top of him.

"Why my apartment?" he questioned, watching and licking his lips as she removed the shirt she was wearing, exposing herself to him.

"Your bed is bigger and with what I have planned for you, a big bed is very necessary," she answered.

Roy smiled widely. He loved that answer.

* * *

**Author's Code: 2009**


	10. My Master's Daughter

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 10: My Master's Daughter **

** Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own my plot and whatever OC's show up. **

**

* * *

**

**My Master's Daughter**

Roy wrapped his arms tighter around Riza's body as he watched her sleep. She was snuggled up to his chest, a small smile gracing her lips as she dozed. His hands reached down to pull up the thin black sheet that was covering them so that it better protected her from the cooling night air. After that hand performed the task, it returned to its previous position.

He was extremely tired thanks to their previous activities but he just couldn't fall asleep. Riza had never before done the things that they did that night. He'd never seen her that way in bed. It was as if she was a different person, not that he was complaining but it didn't seem like the normal her.

A grin appeared on his face he ran his hand down the side of her arm. Riza had changed a lot since when they first met. It was amazing how that shy young woman that he befriended so long ago became the assertive woman she was now. He knew that those insecurities she carried still were inside her, but comparing then to now, she'd come so far.

He closed his eyes as his thoughts drifted to the past, when he had first arrived at the door of the Hawkeye residence, when he first saw the woman that would become the love of his life.

**(-)**

Roy Mustang sighed as he finally arrived at his destination. He carried his possessions onto the porch of the large brick house that vaguely reminded him of one of the many orphanages he'd frequented before being adopted.

The house was two stories high and made of red brick. It was horribly plain on the outside, making it seem so incredibly intimidating and boring. Small pine trees were planted in pots on each side of the door, tiny spider webs residing among the evergreen branches of the plants. The house was in decent condition, but it certainly wasn't what he expected when he heard about Jeremy Hawkeye.

He'd expected a beautiful white house with tall pillars and beautiful detailed landscaping around it. He expected roses to be growing everywhere and a place resonating prosperity. The man in that lived in the house was famous after all. Perhaps, he wasn't famous in the sense that Roy perceived fame to be. Regardless, he was there and nothing would distract him from his goal of mastering the use of flame alchemy and helping the country: changing it for the better.

He walked up to the door, sat down his bags, and pressed the small doorbell. He smiled lightly as it chimed beautifully, contrasting with the plainness of the house significantly. He waited a minute, then pressed the bell again, surely someone was home. After waiting a while more, he sighed and pressed it yet again; third time was the charm right? After waiting yet another minute, he figured he'd have to find a place in town to stay and then find out if he was really at the right house. He picked up his bags and started to turn away when he heard the door unlock. He turned toward it when it opened and a seemingly out of breath voice spoke.

"I'm sorry it took so long to open the door. I was upstairs cleaning a bit."

Roy turned around to face the door and was quite surprised to find that the person that answered was a young woman with blond hair and stunning hazel eyes. He took in her appearance and smiled inwardly, she was quite a lovely sight, another contradiction against the dull house.

"Sir?"

Roy cursed silently when he found himself staring and smiled lightly. "It's all right," he said.

"You are Mr. Mustang correct?" she questioned.

"Yes," he replied. "Is Master Hawkeye here?"

"He is expecting you. I'm sorry he's out right now. He had a business issue to handle. He told me to show you to your room," she said.

She opened the door wider and stepped aside so he could enter. As soon as he walked past her, she shut the door.

The inside of the house was much like the outside: dull and plain. Everything was different shades of brown, the only color being a few paintings lining the walls. The house was nothing like his home, which always had fresh flowers and painted in bright colors. His home was also always filled with the sound of music drifting and laughter. Everything here was very quiet.

"Please, follow me," the girl said, interrupting his thoughts once more.

"Sure," he said and followed her up the stairs. They turned to the right and went down the hallway until they arrived at the end of the hall and turned to the right door. She opened it and led him inside the room.

He smiled lightly. The room was very clean and the light drifted through the windows beautifully. There was a full size bed in the corner and a fireplace on the wall opposite the door. It was painted in a pale blue and everything was much brighter than the rest of the home.

"I hope this is okay. I cleaned it up for you the best I could," she spoke in a soft voice.

Roy sat down his bags and turned toward her. "Thank you, I appreciate it. I am sorry for all the trouble Miss . . ."

"It's no trouble. It's my job after all," she said. "Miss Hawkeye. Master Hawkeye is my father."

"Oh, I see. I didn't know he had a daughter," he said.

Riza nodded but spoke no more about it. "The bathroom is through here," she said, motioning to a door behind her. "There are fresh towels for you in the closet, and I have some dinner ready if you are hungry."

"I think I'd better get cleaned up first but dinner sounds great."

"Then I'll leave you to it, Mr. Mustang," she said and left his room, closing the door behind her.

**(-)**

She walked down the stairs, a light blush flitting across her cheeks. It wasn't lost on her how good-looking he was. She was a teenage girl after all and had a fair share of interest in guys. Unfortunately, none of the boys in town ever gave her a second look. She wasn't well liked many people in town, unlike her mother who was loved by everyone. She was just so very different from the other girls.

She wasn't as ladylike as the other women were and her hobby, shooting, wasn't exactly inductive to ladylike behavior. People didn't like what wasn't normal. Her father wasn't liked very much either. They both were merely tolerated by the townspeople. The only people that really saw her as a human being that had feelings were the baker and a few of the shopkeepers.

As far as friends, she had none. She didn't go to high school. Instead, her father and mother, when she was alive, taught her there at home. She took the exams this past year and passed brilliantly. She guessed she had some of her father's intelligence in her after all. Of course, he never even inquired about her score. He just asked if she "managed to pass".

When she arrived in the kitchen, she was relieved to see that nothing had gotten cold. She made a plate for her father and left it in the oven before putting the rest on the table. As soon as she set out the food, she heard footsteps. She turned around and saw that Mr. Mustang was watching her. She blushed lightly and turned to face away from him.

"There's food here," she said, then groaned inwardly for stating the obvious. "Please, help yourself," she said softly as he walked past her.

"Thank you," he said, taking a seat and serving himself some food onto a plate.

She started to leave when his voice stopped her. "Aren't you going to eat?" he questioned.

She turned toward him. "Well, I… I usually just wait until everyone else is done."

"Why?" he questioned, finding the behavior quite odd.

"Well…um…" Riza didn't quite know how to give the reason in words. It was just that most of her father's students thought that was what women were supposed to do, and she didn't want any trouble out of any of them. She usually just shied into the background as much as possible.

"Are you shy? There's no need to be shy around me," he said. She looked surprised at his comment. "It's not nice eating alone you know. Please eat here with me."

She stared at him for a moment and then smiled softly before sitting down and serving herself some food. She ate quietly, trying to ignore the fact that the young man was looking at her.

"Where's your father anyway?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't know," she answered, "he doesn't tell me where exactly he's going or when he'll be back."

"Why not? You are his daughter after all. He shouldn't worry you like that."

"I'm not really worried," she said, standing and taking her plate to the sink. She didn't really want to talk about her father. He wasn't exactly her favorite topic of conversation.

Roy stood and took his plate over to the sink, getting the hint that she didn't want to continue on that conversational track. He watched as she began running water over the dishes. He grabbed a towel when she washed one of the dishes and then took the wet dish, rinsed it and then dried it.

"Mr. Mustang you shouldn't do that! You are a guest in this house," she said.

"And guests should help with chores. I don't mind at all. I used to do the dishes back home all the time. I find it sort of relaxing," he said and continued help her.

"Are you sure you want to?"

"Yes, I'm sure," he said.

Riza finished washing and as he finished drying, she put away all of the leftovers. She gazed at the clock and went over to take the plate for her father out of the oven and put it in the fridge.

Riza finally sat down and Roy grinned at her as he put up the towel on the rack beside the sink.

"Would you show me around?" he questioned, smiling at the younger woman softly. He already was fond of the girl and wanted to get her to open up and talk more.

"If you'd like," she replied standing and scooting her chair back under the table.

"First, I'd like to know your name. Your first name of course," he said.

She looked surprised at first but then answered his request. "My name is Riza," she said.

**(-)**

That night, Roy was lying in bed, staring up at the cracked plaster of the ceiling. The moon was shining through the window, illuminating the room. He groaned and rose from the bed, going over to the curtains and pulling them shut. Darkness blanketed the room and Roy crawled back into bed.

He couldn't sleep and knew that the moonlight wasn't the reason that the rest avoided him.

The reason he couldn't sleep had to do with his master's daughter. He couldn't help but think about her. He'd never come across a girl…no, a woman, like her. Though she was rather tiny, Riza Hawkeye was a woman in both body and actions. She was shy but very mature. He knew that she was of legal age, which shouldn't have mattered but it did to him. He didn't feel so dirty looking at her since she was such.

She was perfectly proportioned in the way that a woman should have been. Her curves made it hard to tear his gaze away when she was walking in front of him, giving him a tour of the rather large house that would be his home for quite a while. In reality, his mind was touring her form.

He knew he shouldn't have been thinking about his teacher's daughter in that manner. It wasn't right and it could only lead to trouble: for not only him but her as well. He would have to keep his looking to a minimum and remind himself not to touch her. It would be very difficult to do so but he would try for both their sakes. He looked at the area below his waist and sighed. "Very hard indeed," he muttered. Little did Roy know, the girl that he was thinking about, was thinking nearly the same about him.

Riza turned on her stomach and groaned into her pillow as rain began tapping on the windowpane. She couldn't sleep and it was all thanks to a vision of Mr. Mustang stuck in her head. Her body felt incredibly odd and she couldn't place ever being told what sort of feeling it was that she was experiencing. Her stomach was fluttering and she got chills whenever he gazed at her with those dark eyes. No other guy ever had that sort of effect on her. She found herself longing for him to do all of the things to her that she'd heard other girls whisper about. She wanted him to do all the things her father told her never to do until she was married.

That wasn't likely to happen of course. No guy had any intentions of marrying her. There were far prettier, more delicate girls they could choose from. She loved wearing the dresses and getting "prettied up" as her mother used to say, but there was no use in doing so if she had nowhere to go. As a result, she'd taken up shooting. It was a hobby that didn't require another person, it took discipline, and calm nerves to attain a perfect shot and she took pride in having the skill despite the negativity people associated with it.

However, at the moment, she hated the skill. Mr. Mustang wouldn't want a girl like that after all. She could tell he went for the very pretty feminine types. He wouldn't cast her a second look once he saw the girls in town. That was the way it always was. Besides, it would be too awkward. Riza closed her eyes and sighed, making up her mind that nothing would happen other than a friendly exchange.

**(-)**

Roy groaned and opened his eyes slowly, expecting light to hit them from the sun. He was quite surprised to find that his bedroom was still fairly dark. He sat up and looked over at the windows, figuring a bit of sun would be shining through the cracks. He turned his head, he looked toward the clock on the nightstand, barely visible through the slight morning glaze.

"Oh, its five thirty," he said, casually. He sat on the edge of the bed and placed his feet on the cold floor. He stretched his arms into the air but paused as he moved to bring them down. He then glanced at the clock once more. "Crap, its five thirty! Why in the heck am I awake at five thirty?"

He crawled back under the covers and buried his body among the mass of blankets and pillows. He paused when he got a whiff of a very pleasant smell, causing him to sit up in the middle of his bed, now wide-awake, and sniffed the air. The smell hit his nose again and he grinned. Someone was making breakfast and he was confident that the someone was Riza Hawkeye.

He got up, showered, dressed, and made his way down the stairs in record time, the strength of the aroma increasing the closer he got to the kitchen. Roy smiled when he walked into the kitchen and saw her cooking at the stove, wearing light blue pajamas and pink bunny slippers.

He grinned as she turned around quickly with the frying pan in one hand and the spatula in the other. She blushed lightly, clearly not expecting him to be up this early.

"Um…Good…good morning," she stuttered, her blush deepening a darker shade of red.

"Good morning to you as well," he said and looked down at her feet before looking her in the eyes. "I like your slippers. I have dog ones," he said.

"Dogs?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied.

"Damn, I didn't know they sold dog ones," she muttered.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said quickly, as she placed the breakfast she was fixing on some plates. She sat down at the table and began to eat. As soon as Roy began to eat his food, the kitchen door swung open and a tall man entered wearing a brown trench coat and hat. His skin was extremly pale, like he was made of snow. He had an empty look in his eyes and blond hair that fell down onto his neck. It was dripping wet but he paid no mind to it.

He took off his trench coat, hung it on a peg beside the door, and then placed his hat on the same peg, the rainwater dripping down and dirtying the white kitchen floor.

The man turned his head toward the table, surprise showing on his face over the fact Riza was sitting there eating. Riza stood, removed a plate from the stove, and handed it to her father.

"There's some coffee made in the pot in your study," she said.

He nodded and walked to the door toward his office.

"Roy, I want to see you in the study after you are finished with breakfast. We will begin your training today," he said, ignoring the lovely deed his daughter did for him.

"Yes, sir," he replied and watched as the man left.

"I thought you didn't know when he was coming back," Roy replied.

"I didn't," she said. "I always have coffee made for him just in case." She stood and took her plate over to the sink.

"You finished already?" he questioned, noting that she hadn't eaten much. She raked the food into a bowl and put a lid on it before sticking it in the fridge.

"Yes," she said as she filled the sink with water.

He finished his breakfast and took the plate over to her. She began to wash and rinse. He grabbed a towel and began to dry.

"Mr. Mustang, you should go see my father."

"Not until I help you," he said.

"If you don't hurry he'll be angry," she said.

"Let him," Roy said. "I want to help you first."

"But it's not-"

"So, do you have any hobbies?" he questioned.

Riza stopped washing the dish to stare at him oddly. "What?" she asked, genuinely surprised at his questioned.

"Do you have any hobbies?" he repeated.

"Well, yes," she answered.

"What are they?" Roy questioned.

Neither of them realized that her father was watching them with a slight smirk on his face. He took a sip of coffee admiring the taste before walking back to his study, pondering if that boy could be the right one.

* * *

**Author's Code: 2009**


	11. Frustration and Love

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 11: Frustration and Love **

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own my plot and whatever OC's show up.**

**

* * *

  
**

**Frustration and Love**

Roy cursed a string of Xingese profanities as he threw a book he was reading across the room, it hitting a wall and flopping down onto the floor. Riza stopped at the opened door of his bedroom and chuckled lightly. She was carrying a pile of towels in her arms, intending to put them in the closet of the hallway bathroom.

She stepped into his room as he began banging his head on his desk.

It had been six months since he moved in and they'd become very good friends. So much so that she was completely relaxed around someone for the first time since her mother died. She then realized that this was the first time she'd seem him frustrated enough to do bodily harm to himself. It wasn't really surprising though since alchemists tended to take research a bit too seriously.

She sat the towels on a table beside the door and walked further in the room, wincing every time his head made contact with the desk. "You are going to lose brain cells if you keep doing that," she said.

He lifted his head to look at her, his eyes narrowed slightly. "Who cares," he said. "It's not like they are helping me at all." He began banging his head back down against the desk, letting out more curses that Riza couldn't understand the Amestrian equivalent of. She only knew they were curses because Roy mentioned that they were.

She grabbed the towels she sat on the table, quickly took them to the bathroom, and put them away. She got a cold compress for Roy's head and made her way back to his room. He started to hit his head again but she grabbed his hair before impact, pulling him up from the chair.

"Riza! That hurts!" he groaned. She smiled inwardly when her first name left his lips. She was also allowed to call him Roy as well but only while they were alone. In public, it was Miss Riza and Mr. Mustang because it was "proper". She finally let go of his head and pushed him to sit on the bed.

"Damn, for a girl you sure are tough! I never would have thought it given how small and innocent you look."

"Be careful what you say," she stated. She took his chin in her hand and moved his head up so she could dab at the bruising and cut left by his desk banging. She laughed a bit at that. Desk banging was a silly thing to say.

"Just what are you laughing at?" he questioned.

Riza immediately ceased her laughing. "It's nothing," she said. She finished cleaning the cut on his forehead and then threw the cloth in a hamper before sitting beside him on the bed.

"Thanks Riza," he said, offering her a kind smile.

"Why were you doing that anyway? I assume it had to do with your studies," she said.

Roy sighed and fell backwards onto the bed. "I'm just not learning anything I don't already know. I'm learning the basics of alchemy. Hawkeye sensei's stretched what should be just a review into six months. Hell, it wouldn't take anyone that long to learn the basics even if they'd never heard of alchemy."

"Oh, I see," she said. It was nothing new for her father to do this so she wasn't that surprised upon hearing why Roy was angry. She fell backwards onto the bed as well, rolling onto her side so that she could better gaze at him. He was staring at the ceiling. "Why don't you study on your own then?" she questioned. He turned to her with an intrigued look. "You aren't restricted to any of the books in the study are you?"

"No," he said, clearly growing interested in her suggestion.

"Then take what you feel you want and need to read, and read them. You don't gain access to knowledge by complaining," she said.

Roy grinned and sat up, Riza following suit. "Thank you Riza," he said.

"You're welcome," she replied. She stood and looked at the clock. "I have to go do some shopping. I'll see you this evening."

"Mind if I tag along? I've been here for a long time and I've yet to see any of the town other than the train station," he said.

She looked at him, a hesitant look crossing her features. "I would be happy for you to come along but it might not be in your best interest if you do so," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that if you want to be liked you won't be seen with me. I'm not that popular with the townspeople."

"I don't care about being liked. All I care about is that you like me. You do don't you?"

Riza smiled and nodded. "I like you," she said.

"Then that's all that matters,' he replied.

Riza laughed. "I need to change first and then we can go," she said, walking out of his room. Roy smiled and walked down the stairs to wait on her. It wasn't long at all before she came down the stairs dressed in a black dress with short sleeves. She grabbed an old white shawl and put it on before they walked to the door where she grabbed her basket. "Okay, let's go," she said.

--

The downtown area wasn't what Roy expected at all. For some odd reason he had expected cars going by and lots of noise. Then again, he wasn't used to the small town atmosphere that this place possessed. The quietness of the place actually made him quite uneasy. There weren't any cars and the people were walking everywhere, greeting each other and him, but ignoring Riza, much to his dislike.

He heard Riza groan and he looked ahead of them. Standing in front of what appeared to be a pharmacy was a group of people just around their age.

"They friends of yours?" He questioned. She turned her head to him slightly and narrowed her eyes.

"Point of reference, I don't have any friends," she said. "And they are far from the types of friends I would have if I did."

She growled as the group looked at them for a moment before walking up to them. Riza just knew they were going to try to embarrass her in front of Roy, and probably succeed. How she wished she had the confidence to fight back.

"So Riza, who is this?" A red haired girl said while pulling down her shirt to reveal more breast than the collar was intended to show. "He couldn't be your boyfriend could he?" she said with a mock gasp.

"No, he is-"

"Of course not Sara! A boy like him couldn't possibly want a girl that's never even been kissed! She's frumpy too," a brunette interrupted. She turned to Roy and plastered a fake smile on her face. "You should know that little Riza here has never had a boyfriend. I have experience if you'd like to go out sometime. I swear I can show you a wonderful time despite this small town."

If she weren't a woman, Roy would have punched her by now. Instead, he got a better idea. He wrapped his arm around Riza's shoulders and pulled her closer. Riza looked up at him with surprise and suddenly his lips found hers as his hand held her cheek. He pulled away, leaving a blush on her cheeks and open mouths of shock on the group of snobs.

"Now she has," he said. "And for the record…Sara, there's no need to voice your experience as your whorish actions speak for themselves." He put his arm tighter around Riza and led her away from the group. They walked down the sidewalk and turned the corner. Riza broke away and went into a nearby alley, Roy following her.

"Why…why did you do that?" she asked, a bit of anger accompanying her shaking voice.

Roy frowned. "They were talking bad about you and I don't stand for anyone talking bad about a person I care about."

"But…" Riza trailed off when she realized what he said about caring.

"Didn't … didn't you like the kiss I gave you?" he asked, sounding a bit disappointed. Inwardly, he would be devastated if she said no.

"I loved it but-!" she quickly covered her mouth with her hands, a deep red color forming on her face.

Roy smiled at her and stepped closer, moving her hands away from her mouth. He cupped her face in his hands and stared at her, forcing her to stare into his eyes. He moved his lips to hers once again, moving across them gently. She closed her eyes and dropped her basket, opting to encircle his neck with her arms. She felt his tongue run across her lips and opened her mouth to let it enter.

She'd never kissed anyone before Roy so she wasn't completely sure what she should be doing. All she knew about kissing was what she'd read in romance novels. She suddenly decided to be daring and moved her tongue to touch his. Apparently, she chose well, because the small action caused Roy to groan slightly and move his hands down to her waist, pulling her closer to his body.

Roy loved the feel of her in his arms. This entire time he'd wondered what it would be like to kiss her. He'd kissed women before but never felt the spark that he felt with Riza. He thought that his mother had been joking when she mentioned the electricity one felt when kissing someone they truly cared about. He thought she'd made up the way it just came on so quickly. Now, he knew that none of the words that she'd spoken was false.

When the need for air became vital, he pulled away and could only stare at her as he caught his breath. Her lips were red, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were now open, staring at him with a look of shock and absolute pleasure. Her arms were still wrapped around his neck and she was breathing heavily. He smiled as she lowered her head to rest against his chest, hiding her face from his gaze.

"That wasn't… This isn't a good idea," she said. "It wasn't a good idea at all for you to kiss me back there either."

"Why is that?" he questioned.

"It might spread all over town," she said. "Then it will get back to my father and he might kick you out of the house. Then you won't be around anymore."

"I doubt that," he said, causing her to look up at him with curiosity.

"What do you mean?"

"You said a few months ago that the people in town weren't fond of you or your father. I take it that your father probably isn't too thrilled with them either, right?"

"Yes, that's right," she said.

"Then what makes you think that they will talk to your father? Why would your father bother to believe them either? Most importantly, what did we do that was so wrong? I'm a man, you are a woman, and we kissed. It's not as if we are the first and surely won't be the last. It would be different if you were just whoring around like a hussy," he said, wrapping her tighter in his embrace.

"My father is protective. If he suspects anything, he'll come and ask me and he can tell when I'm lying. That's why it can't go any further than that kiss. I don't want you to be kicked out of the house. I know you have what it takes to learn flame alchemy. You have a natural talent and you would do so much good with it."

"You are worth the risk of a kiss or two or ten," he said and lowered his mouth to hers once more. Riza sighed and kissed him back. As much as she didn't want to risk it, kissing him felt more right than anything in her world ever did. He pulled back and smiled at her. "What do you say? Can we give it a try?" he questioned.

"Give what a try?"

"A secret relationship between the two of us," he said.

Riza stared into his dark eyes, knowing that she wouldn't be able to say no. She knew in her heart that she was falling for the man holding her tightly in his embrace and could do nothing to stop it. She nodded and kissed him again, willing to risk everything for the man with her.

--

Thank you for coming with me," she said, as they walked up to the door of the house. It'd been three and a half months since they began their relationship and Master Hawkeye hadn't even hinted at knowing anything. Riza knew her father and if he had an inkling of their relationship, he would have thrown Roy, and probably her, out on their asses.

"The pleasure was all mine," he said with a smirk, desiring to kiss her there at the door but keeping himself from doing so. It wouldn't do for her father to catch them. He'd never once kissed her in the house and especially not while her father was there.

She started to open the door but before she did so, she grabbed the note that she spotted on it. She read it and heaved a sigh. Roy didn't have to inquire what it said.

"Gone again?" he questioned.

"Yes, and he left your assignment," she said, handing him the note and unlocking the door. They went inside and toward the kitchen. Riza started putting up the groceries when she heard Roy curse. She turned around and watched as he crumbled it up and tossed it into the trashcan.

"Too easy?" she questioned, as he sat the grocery bag he carried on the table and began removing items.

"Yeah," he replied, sitting down at the table.

"I see. Well, I'm going to fix some dinner. Anything particular that you'd like," she said.

"You know what I like," he said.

"Beef stew it is then." She had fixed various types of food since he started staying with them and she quickly learned that her beef stew was his favorite. He had explained once that his mother rarely ever fixed anything like that. He mentioned that his mother almost never fixed anything home cooked. "By the time, you get done with your assignment it will be done."

He stood up and cracked his knuckles, " It won't take that long, but I guess I should get to work."

"Have fun," she said, taking out some beef and vegetables for the stew. Roy smiled and snuck behind her.

"Riza," he said. She turned around and was surprised to see him so close to her. He lifted a hand to her face and kissed her softly and quickly before walking out of the room, leaving her at a loss for words. That was the first time he actually kissed her in the house.

--

As Riza got ready for bed, she found herself humming a tune that her mother used to sing around the house all the time. She turned to a mirror and the humming stopped when she realized that she was smiling. She hadn't smiled until Roy entered her life. Now she found herself having a hard time restraining her smiles around her father.

She suddenly frowned when she came to a realization. Roy wouldn't be around for long. If her father decided he was the one for flame alchemy then he would just leave her of course. Then things would go back to the way it was before. She knew she shouldn't have let her guard down but it was far far too late. She felt good in the moment. Even if all these events were just a small moment in time, she decided that she was going to enjoy every single minute. She wouldl deal with the pain when it came.

She left her bathroom and growled as she saw that her window was wide open, the rain coming through and soaking her bed horribly. She walked over and closed the window before removing the blankets and sheets from the bed and hanging them over the shower curtain rod to dry. She then left her room and went to sleep in the other guest room, making sure she grabbed some sheets and pillowcases out of the hallway linen closet on the way.

Roy was sitting in bed reading when he saw her walk into the room directly across from his.

"Why are you going in there?" he questioned, getting her attention. He put his book down, stood from bed, and walked over to his door.

"I forgot to close the window beside my bed and the wind blew in the rain," she stated, and then went into the other room. He followed her inside.

"Damn it, he got rid of the bed in here," she muttered. "Looks like I'm going to have to sleep in father's room tonight," she said, with extreme distaste. She hated that room with a passion. It was so horribly creepy and had a musky smell she despised.

"You could stay with me," Roy suggested and took a step back just in case she attempted to smack him.

She turned to look at him, the offer incredibly appealing. To sleep in his arms where it was nice and warm would be wonderful. His arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer.

"You will keep your hands to yourself?" she questioned, as she turned in his embrace.

"I promise," he said and kissed her for the second time in the house. They pulled apart and finally she nodded.

"You better remember that," she stated.

They went into his room and after locking the door, crawled into his bed. Riza scooted close to the edge and laid facing away from Roy. He grinned at her and put his arms around her waist, pulling her to the middle of the bed and closer to him, causing her to gasp.

"You aren't going to stay warm over there," he whispered in her ear, his breath brushing over the skin there causing small goose bumps to form all over her. "See," he said, rubbing her arms. "You've got chills already.

She couldn't find any words as his hands stroked her skin gently, thinking the goose bumps were because of the cold.

Evidently, he noticed her silence and asked with a worried tone, "Are you alright?" She nodded and he let her go long enough to turn off the lamp beside the bed and pull the covers over them tightly.

"Relax Riza, you are so tense," he said. "I promise I'm not going to hurt you in any way."

Riza nodded again then cursed silently. She wasn't tensed up because she was afraid of him. She was tense because his hard body was pressed against her and his warm hands had rubbed across her skin, making her long for what it they would feel like in other places.

Her mind was running rampant with visuals about what his body looked like under those clothes. She wondered if he had what people called, six pack abs and wondered if he was incredibly well endowed like the men in her novels. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to will her mind away from any of those thoughts.

She felt him turn her around so that she was facing him and felt her cheeks growing hot. She was seventeen years old and he was nineteen. It made it difficult because, according to the country's laws, a sexual relationship was legal between them. She almost wished that she were a bit younger so that it would be a deterrent to Roy.

"You're uncomfortable aren't you?" he questioned.

She opened her eyes and looked at his face, his expression full of worry.

"I'm not used to being so…" she trailed off, not knowing the proper word to use for the situation.

"Affectionate?" he questioned.

"That's one way of saying it," she replied, what she really meant was turned on.

"That's too bad," he said, kissing her on the lips quickly. He moved to pull away when she grabbed his pajama shirt and pressed her lips tightly against his, slipping her tongue in his mouth. She'd had enough. Her entire body felt like it was aching and she felt like if he didn't take her she would die.

She wanted him, she admitted it to herself, and she wanted him to show her everything. She didn't want anyone else to take her innocence; it had to be Roy Mustang. No matter what kind of future awaited her, he would be the one to, turn her into a woman, so to speak. She wasn't sure how accurate that expression was but it was really the way she felt.

Even if he didn't return the affection, she knew that she was in love with him. She pulled away and trailed one hand down his chest and under his shirt, causing him to look at her in shock.

"Show me," she said simply, knowing he'd know what she meant.

Roy's eyes widened as her words arrived to his ears. "Riza…" he said, unsure of how to word the rest of his sentence. He thought about it as he stared at her.

"I want you to be the one," she continued.

"Are you sure?" he questioned, more than willing to give her what she wanted. Actually, what he wanted as well.

"I don't do anything I'm not sure of," she whispered, her gaze burning into his.

Roy moved her so that she was lying on her back, her head resting against the pillows on the bed, and kissed her. His lips were gentle at first, but each time he pulled away and returned to the slightly redden skin, the kisses became rougher.

He unbuttoned her top but when he started to remove it, she stopped his hands.

"Could you leave that on?" she asked. When he looked at her curiously, she smiled gently. "Please?"

"Of course," he said, smiling back at her. He gazed at her exposed body appreciating every curve, freckle, and scar that decorated it. His hands began trailing along her skin, causing chills to form as he touched her, as if she was hooked to a continuously charging battery and a current was traveling through her blood.

She unbuttoned his shirt, and he shrugged it off before moving his lips to her neck. She leaned back and groaned the more he kissed different parts of her body. His hands, lips, and tongue made her feel things that she never knew a human could experience. A high that seemed like nothing in the world could ruin.

As the night wore on, they finally consummated their relationship in that timeless dance, possessing all the feelings shared by two people in love with each other.

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**Author's Code: 2009**


	12. Goodbye and Reunion

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 12: Goodbye and Reunion **

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own my plot and whatever OC's show up.**

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**Goodbye and Reunion**

Roy felt Riza shift in his arms and then heard her speak. "Why are you still awake?" When she tried to sit up, she was stopped by his arms around her, keeping her resting against him. She sighed and gave up trying to sit up. She remained resting against him, and closed her eyes, intending on going back to sleep.

"I was just thinking about when we first met and when we first made love."

Riza smiled softly. "That was a nice experience," she said, cuddling closer to him.

"Yeah, I agree," he said. "Very nice indeed."

Riza suddenly tensed as another memory of the past invaded her mind. Roy noticed her actions and hugged her tightly.

"What's wrong?" He questioned. "Why'd you suddenly tense up?

"I was just remembering when you left," she answered.

---

Riza was shocked when she woke up one morning, six more months after the first time she and Roy made love, and found out that he was no longer there. Her heart couldn't believe that he just left without even saying goodbye. Didn't she mean anything to him other than an occasional lay? Didn't she mean enough to him that he could have at least told her he was leaving?

"What do you mean he's done and he's gone?" she questioned her father, who was sitting in his study. Surprisingly, not at his desk but in front of the fireplace.

"He was done, I taught him as requested," he said.

"But he didn't learn flame alchemy," she said, trying to steel her voice.

Her father, who was reading, placed the book he held down on his lap and directed his gaze at her.

"Did you think he had what it took?" he questioned.

"Father?" she said questioningly, unsure why he was asking her that.

"You heard me Riza. Do you think that boy had what it took to inherit the flame alchemy?"

"Yes," she said.

"Is that based off his skill in alchemy or his skill regarding the things you did in that secret relationship of yours?" he questioned, displaying no anger in his voice.

Riza took a step back, completely stunned that her father knew about their relationship.

"I know every single thing that goes on in this house Riza. It is extremely conceited of you to think I don't."

"But why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you just stop it?"

"Why would I? I supposed a normal father might raise hell but there's really no use. I trust your judgment. No, I don't like the things you two did, but you were lonely. I saw that, and I saw that Mustang feels more for you than as just a quick…fling."

"But what if I'd let him see the…"

"You wouldn't have and didn't. Did you?" he said.

"No," she replied.

"Then, I supposed that means that you didn't think he was the one, am I correct?"

"No, you are wrong!" she protested. "That's not it at all."

"Then why didn't you show him? What are your reasons?"

Riza cursed, effectively shocking her father for the first time since she'd been alive. She stared at him with a fiery gaze so much like his own, and for the first time he saw his daughter as an adult. "I'm ashamed of having the goddamned thing on my back. That's why," she snapped.

"I see," he said, choosing to ignore that comment in favor of asking another question. Yes, ignoring was always his way when he didn't want a confrontation.

"You didn't answer my original question. Do you think he was the one to master flame alchemy."

Riza didn't tear her gaze away from his. She thought for a moment before nodding her head. "Yes I do. Any other feelings I have for him aside, I think he is the one."

"Good," Master Hawkeye said. "So do I. It's just that he's not ready yet."

She was surprised at her father's confession and greatly confused by the not ready comment. "Father?"

"He'll be back. Not only for the secrets Riza, but for you," he replied.

"Yeah, sure," she said, sounding defeated. Her father knew that she didn't believe him so as she turned to walk away he stopped her with his words. "You two have a connection. Whatever path your life takes it will always be intertwined with his. You aren't going to stay in this gossip, catty, horrible town for the rest of your life."

He waited for her to respond but she never did. All she did was walk out of the room.

She went into the kitchen and after making herself a cup of tea. After doing so, she walked up to her room and sat in a chair in front of her window. Her mind drifted to the young man who took her heart with him when he left. She knew he would leave eventually. She'd kept telling herself that and warning against falling for him . . . but she did anyway.

This house and her life wouldn't be the same without him in it. She glanced down at her cup and was surprised to find that she drank all of her tea. She sighed, and sat it down on the table beside her, not feeling like going back downstairs.

She stood, walked over to her bed, and crawled under the covers. She cringed when her head hit something on the pillow. She sat up and was surprised to see one of Roy's old shirts, folded neatly. She grinned as she picked it up and hugged it to her, smelling his scent on it. She told him she liked his smell once, so he must have left it there for her. Perhaps her father was right. Perhaps he would return.

Her thoughts suddenly trailed back to the words her father spoke.

"Whatever path your live takes it will always be intertwined with his."

--

Roy smiled as he walked up to the familiar house that he'd left so long ago. Now, he wasn't dreading going into the plain building because he knew it held one of the most precious things in his life. No, not the secret to flame alchemy, though that was precious to him, but Riza Hawkeye. He just prayed she wasn't angry with him for leaving so quickly and without saying goodbye.

He was surprised when Master Hawkeye answered the door instead of Riza. He took one look at Roy's appearance and scoffed. "Didn't think you'd be so damn stupid."

"May I speak with you, Sir?" he questioned.

Hawkeye's frown darkened but he stepped aside, swaying a bit, as Roy walked into the house. Hawkeye closed the door behind Roy and led the way to his study. It was obvious Riza hadn't cleaned it in a long time. There were still books strewn everywhere and papers littering his desk and floor. When she cleaned, it was still cluttered but it was organized clutter.

He watched as Hawkeye stumbled slightly over to his desk. Roy was struck at how frail he appeared, as if he had aged rapidly all of a sudden or been unwell. Roy opened his mouth to speak but Hawkeye spoke first.

"Military," he muttered to himself, his gravelly voice carrying extreme distaste in it. He turned his head to the paper in front of him, picked up a pen, and began writing. "So, you became a soldier after all Roy. Just like almost every damn stupid young man that thinks that they can be something great. If you are in the military nothing great can come of it. I didn't peg you for such a damned fool."

Roy kept almost a military stance as he stood before the man. Though he wasn't in front of anyone high rank in the military, he felt as if it was only proper.

"A soldier, yes I am one. A fool, I believe that's false," he finally replied. His teacher looked up at him and Roy continued. "I thought that I would eventually like to take the qualification exams to become a state alchemist. To serve my country."

Hawkeye chuckled, the sarcasm in the laughter completely evident and intentional. He grinned knowingly. "Just as I thought. It's still too early for you to use flame alchemy."

"Still? In the end you've only taught me the basics of alchemy up until now." Roy replied.

"Of course it's too early. As well as a waste," he said, looking down at the book on his desk. He was disappointed that Roy was wearing that blue uniform; he didn't want his daughter with a "military dog", as they had been named by those opposed to them. He didn't let the disappointment show on his face. Instead, he let his other emotions for the military show through.

"A waste sir?" he questioned.

"It's a waste to teach someone who would degrade himself by becoming a dog of the military. It's a waste to teach you even the fundamental concepts," Hawkeye spat.

Roy looked nervous for a moment, as he decided how to reply. Upon hearing the tone in which he spoke, Roy thought that he might get up from his desk and maim him.

"Alchemy is for the people is it? That is what the military say but in their case, it's for them. They only use it for promotions and show. The use of alchemy has corrupted the best. I will not have my alchemy used for that and I will not have my daughter be a part of it," Hawkeye said, adding Riza to the mix.

Roy looked torn as he spoke about Riza. To deny him alchemy was one thing, but to deny him access to being with Riza was going over the line. He would voice that later, first, he would deal with improving the way Hawkeye saw the military.

"That may be true on most parts sir, but I think also that being useful to the military is linked to being useful to the people. It's protecting the people I love most, including Riza…" he trailed off, figuring since Hawkeye mentioned her he knew of their relationship, just not the far extent. Otherwise, he'd probably be dead by now. "Now that we are exposed to the threats from surrounding countries, strengthening the military is most urgent. To protect the nation by using alchemy is-"

"Quiet Roy, I'm tired of listening to those secondhand opinions," he said, clearly growing tired both mentally and physically.

Roy sighed with frustration. "Sir. . . If I had as much knowledge as you it should be easy to take the state qualification." He sighed again then continued, "Honestly, I find it unbearable that someone of your caliber is smoldering in such destitution. You and Riza-"

"This isn't about your feelings for my daughter. Leave her out of it," Hawkeye said. 'We'll discuss her later."

Roy chose to do as he said, but continued with his argument. "If you take the state qualifications and accept the issued research funds, your research could also go even further."

"There's no need for that," he said, as he gripped his pencil tighter. He looked up at the ceiling: his eyes wide and not focusing on anything in particular. He looked incredibly lost in thought.

"My research was perfected a long time ago. It is the strongest kind of alchemy and depending on how it is used. It can be the most deadly. I became satisfied with that and I do not intend to create anything more dangerous. Alchemists are living beings who, as long as they are alive, cannot go on without seeking truth. When they stop thinking, the "alchemist" would die." He turned a foreboding gaze to Roy. "That is why I am a human who died a long time ago." Roy came closer to his teacher with a sad look. "A human who couldn't take care of his daughter the way he should have."

"Please don't say such a thing. If you would please use that power for the world."

"Power? So you want power Roy?"

Suddenly blood erupted from Hawkeye's throat and his face hit down roughly on the desk. "Master!" Roy yelled in horror.

"Since I saw your talent in alchemy grow with my own eyes, I thought it best bestowing it to you." He coughed, his head still lying on the book, blood from his mouth coming out and soaking into the pages, staining them and making the words unreadable. "What a pity. I don't have any time left to teach you."

"Sir!" Roy placed his hand on Hawkeye's back and knelt beside him.

"But my research," he managed to say. "My daughter knows it all. If you say that you will use my alchemy . . . my power in the correct way, she will probably present the secret to you. . . I . . . am . . . sorry."

"Please get a hold of yourself! Sir!"

"I was so immersed in my research. I couldn't do anything for you." Roy knew he wasn't talking about him. Hawkeye was talking about his daughter. His gaze was directed to the empty doorway, as if he was trying to send his regret through the house to her. "I'm sorry Riza," Hawkeye whispered and coughed, more blood pouring from him.

Roy now had both of his hands on Hawkeye's back. "Master! Master Hawkeye!"

"Roy . . . I'll leave my daughter to you. Please . . . please . . . please. . ." he wasn't able to finish his sentence.

"Someone call a doctor! Is anyone here?" Roy yelled. He was holding Hawkeye up and on his way to the door when he saw Riza standing in the doorway, a look of horror on her face.

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**Author's Code: 2009**


	13. The Decision

_AN: I am so happy that you all liked the last chapter. I appreciate everyone that reads and those that reads and reviews. Thank you so much. Now on with the next chapter. :)_

_Thanks to dreximgirl for the betaing._

_Disclaimer: I don't own FMA and gain no profit for my fanfiction._

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**The Decision **

"I'm sorry Riza," Roy said as he walked her home. Her father didn't make it and they were transporting his body to the morgue to prepare for burial. He had wanted a normal burial and since there was nothing Riza needed to tell them, she decided to go home.

"One less nuisance for the town to worry about. They would be happy if I went soon after," she said bitterly.

"Hush," he said moving to put an arm around her shoulder.s but she sped up to avoid his arm. "Are you angry with me?" he asked.

"My father just died Mr. Mustang. Do you think I am wasting my feelings on you?" Even though her father died, her thoughts trailed to Roy more often than they should have. Her father had been sick for a while and she was preparing herself for the day when his body couldn't sustain itself any longer. Still, when she walked in and saw her father, with blood all over him and Roy holding him up, she couldn't help but have that sudden shock go through her. She supposed that it was normal.

"I am sorry, that was selfish of me," Roy said interrupting her thoughts.

"It's alright, lets just get to the house and I will make some beef stew for you." They passed some people who gave Hawkeye their condolences, she just smiled slightly and nodded to them.

"That's not necessary, Miss Riza," he replied using the formal talk because of the people walking by. "You should get some rest. I'll get something from the cafe in town if I get hungry."

"No you won't. I will cook," she said walking through the gateway and into her yard. She took out the keys and unlocked the door, they went inside, took off their coats, and walked into the kitchen. She went to the fridge and took out some meat and vegetables, she instantly began cutting them up without saying another word to Roy.

Roy was about fed up with her attitude. He walked over to her and laid his hand over hers, she stopped cutting and looked at him curiously. He took the knife from her and laid it down on the cutting board. Taking her hand again, he pulled her against him and held her. She grinned slightly and buried her head in his chest, taking in his scent.

"Thank you," she said finally, her voice muffled. He pulled away.

"For what?"

"For everything, but I swear that I am alright. I was expecting it for a while, I was as prepared for it as one could be."

"I see," he replied. She pulled away from him completely , picked up the knife and began cutting again.

"You should have a shower and relax. You know where it is," she said.

"You're the one who should relax."

"Cooking relaxes me. Go on," she urged him, without turning around to meet his gaze.

"Alright," he said and went up the stairs. When she heard the pipes creak indicated that he was in the shower her tears started to flow.

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Hawkeye-sensei didn't have a funeral, just merely a burial. He didn't like all the fuss caused over a dead body, like at his wife's funeral, so he had told Riza no fuss. She granted his request and had him buried at the grave yard. No viewing, wake, or anything of the sort, It wasn't like the people of town really cared anyway. A few of her shop keepers came to the graveyard when they were burying him and told her that if she needed anything to let them know. She nodded and they left after putting some flowers on the fresh grave.

Obviously Roy stayed with her. She stared at the headstone sadly.

"I loved my father," she stated aloud, "It may not have seemed like it but I did. We weren't as close as I would have liked to been but I still cared about him."

"That's understandable, he was your father." Roy replied. "He cared about you too Miss Riza."

She just smiled a bit and laid some flowers down on his grave. She decided that she needed to apologize and thank Roy for everything.

"I am sorry Mr. Mustang," she said in a low voice.

"For what?" he asked.

"For having you take care of everything up to my father's funeral."

"As an apprentice, I'll do anything I can for my teacher." He turned to the beautiful and still very young woman. "Don't you have any other family or relatives?"

"My mother has long been dead and both mother and father seem to have been estranged from their families, so I've never heard them talk of any relatives."

"So what will you do from now on?" Roy asked her.

"Fortunately father taught me schooling well, I will be able to live on my own somehow."

Roy looked over at her and smiled slightly. He loved the woman but due to the circumstances that he was facing he couldn't marry her, even though he wanted to. It would be unfair to her. He took out a card and handed it to her, she looked at him curiously

"If anything happens you can visit the military authorities anytime. I'll probably be in the military for life."

She took the card and looked down at the neat writing, perfectly military like writing.

"For life?" she questioned.

""Yes," he said. She looked up at him pleadingly but said without a pleading tone,

"Please don't die."

This stunned him. It was so incredibly blunt. A raven cawed. _What a proper thing to happen, _he thought.

"Don't say such ominous things," he said, watching her face and examining her look before sighing. "I can't guarantee it, because in this occupation someday I might just die on the side of the road like a piece of trash."

_He certainly is a morbid man, _Riza thought.

"Even so, if I could become one of this countries foundation stones and be able to protect everyone with these hands, I think I'll be happy. That's the reason I learned alchemy, but in the end I wasn't able to learn master's secrets." He caught himself and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. She smiled and looked down at her father's grave. "Sorry, I ended up speaking of my naïve dream."

"No...I think it is a wonderful dream." And she really did. It was like he wanted world peace or something. Yes it was naïve to a point but to have a dream in this day and age was really wonderful, it connected them. That was when she decided to tell him about her father's alchemy secrets. "The secrets that my father left behind. He said that they were written in a code that no average alchemist would be able to decipher."

"So master left behind his secret manuscripts after all?" Riza's stomach flopped at the use of the word manuscripts she couldn't call them that.

"No, they're not manuscripts. He said it would be a problem if his life's research disappeared or was taken by an outsider," she replied unknowingly clenching her fist as she remembered the pain they caused.

"How did he leave them behind?" Mustang asked in puzzlement.

She avoided the question. "Mr. Mustang, that dream you have... can I entrust my back to it?"

He looked at her in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"It's nothing," she said, rubbing her arms. "Let's get back, it's getting cold and dark outside." Sure enough, the sky was slowly darkening.

Roy took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. She looked up at him in surprise, as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him.

"Mr. Mustang this..." Roy interrupted her.

"It's alright, it's dusk. No one can see."

"I don't care about that anymore," she said and they started to walk down the hill from her father's grave.

"Father knew about us," Riza said suddenly.

"What?" Roy said in surprise. She was hitting him right and left with shockers recently.

"He knew about what we did. Everything."

"Why didn't he do anything about it?"

"I don't know," she lied. "He didn't say." She didn't want him to know that it was because he made her happy, she didn't want to tie him down to her.

"I see," he said. They walked into the house and Riza started to fix dinner. He sat at the kitchen table and watched as she cooked. "You need any help? I can at least cut something."

She turned and nodded. "You can cut up the carrots if you want." He stood and walked over to the cutting board, proceeding to cut up the carrots. The kitchen was barren of conversation and all that could be heard was the sizzling of the meat and vegetables in the frying pan.

"There's something I want to show you tomorrow night," she said, having made her decision. She felt now was the right time, perhaps the only time to show him the secrets her father left with her.

"What is it?" he asked, handing her the plate of carrots, which she added to the contents already in the pan.

"What you've wanted all along," she said to him.

"Riza, you..."

"Plain and simple, you will get your secrets tomorrow night. I am too tired tonight to let you see them."

"Tired?" Roy questioned.

She took the pan and scooped the stir-fry onto the plates, handing him a plate, she walked over to the table, and Roy followed. Sitting down across from her, they ate their meal in silence.

He thought it had been rather cold of her to say it like that; come to think of it the entire way she was acting was cold as well. Yes, that is what he had wanted all along, what he still wanted, but along the way something else he wanted had gotten in the way and he still wanted that too; her. His feelings for her consumed him like well...flames. How ironic that the master of flame alchemy's daughter, when she was just around, made him burn like nothing else could.

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AN: Hope you liked it and please review. Next chapter: The Revealing. 

_ AAN: I have set up an update schedual since my personal schedual is pretty tight since I don't want to give up my fanfiction. Please see my profile for info. Thanks and pretty please review. :)_

_Please check out my Riza centered fic The Key. It is very different and I am sure that you will enjoy it. _


	14. The Revealing

**Best Kept Secret  
Author: MoonStarDutchess  
Chapter 14: The Revealing  
Rating: M  
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own my ideas.  
AN: Sorry for the long wait. I had to get some other fics out of my head. I hope that you enjoy this chapter. **

**Thanks to my should have been sister DREXIMGIRL. **_  
_

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**The Revealing**

Riza got up from her chair and took the dishes over to the sink once Roy was finished. She washed them quickly as he stood taking the dishes from her and drying them just as he always did when he stayed there. He took a rag and wiped the countertops before drying them off. It stayed so quiet that it made Roy feel extremely uneasy. every time he started to speak he would look at Riza, see the stern look on her face and "chickened out" so to speak.

Riza dried her hands on the hand towel and draped it over the towel rack beside the door.

"I'm going to bed, you remember where your room is right? I kept it clean, everything is in the same place," she said lowly. She started to walk out but he grabbed her by the arm.

"Are you angry with me?" he asked.

"I …I told you that I was tired. It's been a long day," she replied. She wasn't lying, she wasn't angry, she was hurt. Not only over her father's death but over the fact he had left. She knew that day was going to come but she still couldn't help it. He was the man that was her first in so many things a girl experiences. Even if his leaving was expected, a girl couldn't help but feel a loss could she? As Riza thought all of this, he pulled her into a hug.

His smell…he smelt so damned good. Whatever that soap scent he used, probably Xing made, it made her weak at the knees. She pulled away and smiled as reassuringly as she could.

"I'm really alright," she said leaving the room. Roy sat down at the table, sighing heavily, it was so good to see her again but he wished it could have been under better circumstances.

It killed him that she was putting up this front for him, after all he had known her long enough to know when she was being "fake". She was a person that wouldn't tell what she thought unless asked and still it would take some effort to get it out of her. He blamed it on the fact that she wasn't used to having friends. Damn, the two of them weren't really friends at the time he stayed there, they had been more like secret lovers. Then it hit him, could she think that he was only using her?

He stood from his seat and went up the stairs. After much additional thinking while he was getting ready for bed he decided that he had to talk to her before she went to sleep. If she wasn't already that is. . .

He walked to her bedroom door and knocked. The door opened slightly and he saw she wasn't in the room. He walked further in and heard her in her dressing room talking to herself.

"Snap out of it Riza!" she was scolding herself. "Get over him! He only wants your father's secrets, not you. He'll get the secrets and you will never see him again!" She then caught herself.

"I am going crazy," she said to herself one last time, as she walked out and saw Roy standing there. A chill ran through her, how much did he hear?

"Why are you in here?" she asked.

"Is that how you really think I feel about you?" he asked as she walked past him.

"You should be in bed," she said crawling on her bed and brushing her hair.

He turned to face her. "Answer me."

She set her brush down on the nightstand. "I didn't know what I was saying. I'm …"

"Don't feed me the bullshit about being tired. When we're alone we speak the truth. Do you really think that about me? That I only want you because of your father's secret? That I was using you?" He was understandably angry, after all she was accusing him of something so dishonest and if Roy Mustang was anything it wasn't dishonest, at least not with people he cared for.

She turned her head, she couldn't find the voice to speak to him.

She heard his footsteps come closer to her and even though he kneeled in front of her, she still couldn't look at him. He put one hand on her knee and lifted one to turn her head but she kept her eyes focused away from his face.

"Look at me Riza," he said gently.

She hesitantly turned her gaze to him.

"I am sorry if you feel that way but nothing could be further from the truth. You are all that I thought about while I was gone. Yes, your father's secrets are important to me but along the way something overrode all of that."

"What was that?"

"You Riza," he said. "If you decide that you don't want to give me the secrets, in whatever form they may be, I will figure out how to accomplish flame alchemy another way. But you…I don't want to lose you. Also though, it's not fair that I keep you tied down when I'm in the military and god only knows what will happen. You don't need a life like that with me. I gave that so much thought."

Riza was shocked at his confession. He would find another way to gain flame alchemy? That could take him his whole life. Then she realized what else he said.

"What do you mean so much thought? What else were you putting so much thought into? You mentioned, being tied down."

Roy was alarmed that he had said that and instantly found something else to say. He couldn't tell her the truth. . .well he couldn't tell her the whole truth, his thoughts about marriage, so he merely altered his words.

"Tied down with loving me," then he added quickly, "If you do love me that is. It wouldn't be right to waste anything like that on a man in the military." She smiled and fell to her knees on the floor so she could be more at his level.

"I do," she said and moved her lips to his in a chaste kiss. She pulled away and raised one hand to run it through his hair. "I missed you when you were away. I know I shouldn't have expected you to stay for good and I kept telling myself not to but I couldn't help it. I..." he put his finger on her lips and grinned. She was the only person that saw this side of him and he was almost sure that she only showed this side of her to him. He wanted to take care of her. He wanted her to wait for him but it was too much to ask.

"You should get some rest," Riza said, bringing him out of his thoughts. She stood and he followed standing in front of her. He kissed her cheek but before he reached the door he felt a tug on his arm, turning back around he let Riza lead him over to her bed. "Sleep with me."

She climbed into bed and he followed. They scooted down under the covers, Roy took her into his armsand she cuddled against him, her in his arms made him feel a completion that not even the secrets to flame alchemy could rival.

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Roy awoke to one of the best smells he'd smelled in months. . . a home cooked breakfast. He sat up and realized that if breakfast was being cooked Riza had left his arms without waking him up.

"She should become a sniper if she can leave my arms without waking me," he said aloud. Roy grinned and chuckled a bit at the thought of his Riza in the mud looking down the scope at the enemy. She was good at guns but a sniper would be the last career option she would consider. He chuckled once more as he got up from the bed, showered, dressed, and went down the stairs.

He smiled as he saw her. She was wearing a white button-up shirt and a black skirt, which were normal but the fact that she was wearing bunny slippers made him laugh a bit. He walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing the side of her neck. When she didn't respond and just continued cooking, he asked;

"You alright?" moving away from her neck to look at her.

She put the food on the plates sitting on the countertop and set the pan back down on the stove. Before she could pick up the plates he turned her to face him and pressed his lips to hers. His hands roamed under her shirt and she, weakly, tried to push him off.

"No, don't. . ." she said breathlessly as his hand found her breasts and squeezed them causing her back to arch. He kissed her but she pulled away from him taking him by surprise. She grabbed the plates and set them on the table. "Eat," she said simply, with a stern look on her face that Roy hadn't seen. He grinned and walked over to the chair that she was standing beside and sat down. She took the other one and they began to eat in silence. Roy would occasionally look over at her and the more he did the more angry he got at her silence.

After they were through Riza stood to take the dishes to the sink as always but Roy grabbed her wrist.

"Leave the dishes," he said in the most rough voice he'd ever used with her, causing her to look at him in shock.

"What do you think you are doing?" she snapped back.

"Leave them," he said again, as she tried to jerk her hand out of his but the attempt was futile.

"Let go of me," she said.

He stood up, still holding her wrist. "The hell I will," he said picking her up, carrying her into the living room and sitting down in the huge armchair in front of the fireplace. He put his hand behind her head and pressed it down to rest on his shoulder.

"Go ahead Riza," he said, her eyes widening. "Go ahead and get it all out. All your grief, pain, anything you need to release. Take it out on me." She gripped his shirt tightly but no tears came. She roughly moved her head back and collided her lips with his, before pulling away slightly.

"I don't like to cry," she whispered, brushing her lips against his gently. He pressed his lips to hers once more before she pulled away.

"I told you I'd give you the secrets to flame alchemy today. I believe I should do that now, it will be a while before you can decipher it." She went to move off of his lap but his hands held her there. His lips went to her neck nipping at her skin, he kissed her quickly and after pulling away for air he tried to kiss her again. She placed two fingers on his lips and shook her head.

"Secrets," she said and finally managed to get off his lap. He sighed, stood, and followed her to her bedroom. She walked to her bed and began to unbutton her shirt.

"Riza?" Roy questioned as she slipped the shirt off and then there before him was an intricate array. He gasped and she turned her head to look at him, expecting shock and awe but nothing like the look he had. Anger, no anger wasn't strong enough, rage.

She turned all the way and walked up to him. "Roy? You alright?" He looked her dead in the eyes as he spoke to her.

"How could he do that to you? Use you like that?" he snapped.

"I knew what I was doing," she said.

"Did he?" Roy screamed in anger, Riza stayed silent as he continued; "Didn't he realize the danger that put you in? Anyone that wanted the secrets could have gotten them!" he said.

"How?" she asked simply. "No one would expect them to be tattooed on me."

"How about a. . ."  
"Lover?" she offered then gave a bitter laugh, "I am so plain Roy that I know he wasn't even thinking of that option."

"One, you aren't plain and two, I have made love to you," he said. He mentally noted that he said, "made love" and not, sex and realized what else had been said. He looked at Riza and saw the realization come over her face.

"You said your father knew about us?" he said.

"Yes," she replied.

"And he didn't try to stop us while I was here," Roy rationalized again while Riza nodded. "He was expecting it to be me wasn't he? That's the reason he didn't stop us from. . ."

"I think so," Riza stated.

He walked up to her, she began to turn but he stopped her and turned her to face him. She felt one had wrap around her waist while the other traced her spine.

"Did it hurt?"

"Like hell," she said.

He nodded as she took his hand and led them over to her bed, laying on her stomach so he could see the array. She knew he wouldn't write it on paper, he would memorize it. She closed her eyes to rest them knowing they'd be there a while. The bed shifted then she felt hands under her skirt removing her underwear, her skirt being pushed up to her waist

"Roy, what are you…" she trailed off as she felt him inside her. Gripping the pillows at her head, she moaned as he began moving.

She certainly wasn't expecting this when she showed him the secret to flame alchemy, but by the way her body was feeling at the moment, she was certain he already knew it.

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_AN: I wasn't in a particularly lemony mood. Next chapter is when Roy leaves and then it's back to the present. Maes is in the next chapter as well. I will try not to take so long posting the next one._

_Please review. _


	15. Goodbye and a Decision

_**Best Kept Secret**_

_**Author: MoonStarDutchess**_

_**Chapter 15: Goodbye Prompts a Decision**_

_**Rating:M**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own my idea. **_

_**AN: I got many many reviews that said they were glad I wasn't going to just give up this story. I would like to reassure all of you that I don't give up on any story. I have a Gundam fic right now that, sadly, doesn't get any reviews anymore but the chapters get hits consistently. I haven't given up on it and I won't give up on this one. I hate when an author does that and it's happened with several stories I like.**_

_**AAN: This is a short chapter but it needed to be to serve it's purpose. Sorry there is no Maes. It just didn't feel right going to present at the moment. It was a last minute decision.**_

_** Thanks: DREX sent me Doris Day stuffs :) Thanks to her for both that and betaing. **_

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_**  
**_

**Goodbye Prompts a Decision**

Riza and Roy spent the rest of his days on leave talking while he studied her tattoo. When they took breaks it was usually to eat or make love. They made love so frequently that it felt as if it was a honeymoon, Riza found herself wishing that it was, but she never voiced this aloud to Roy. He had too much to think about as it was.

"I now have it memorized," he said, two days before he would have to leave. She sat up, put her shirt back on, and turned to face him.

"Do you know how you are going to create the spark?" she asked.

"Yes, ignition cloth. I'll make some gloves," he said.

"Father kept some of that in the attic, we could go look for it," she said.

"Alright," he said but as she stood he pulled her back onto the bed and crawled on top of her. He moved his lips to hers roughly; as soon as she began to kiss back he pulled away. "Thank you," he said.

"For what?"

He kissed her softly once, barely brushing them the second time, then kissed her with slightly more pressure. He whispered to her again, "I love you." He allowed his body to press against her while her hands, which had been resting on the bed, circled around his neck. He kissed her neck then moved up to her ear.

"I want you," she whispered boldly. He brushed his lips against hers and said,

"I was about to say the same."

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"Is this it?" he asked as he spotted a roll of white cloth. She turned and walked over to it.

"Feel it to find out," she replied. They'd been up in the attic for about an hour looking for the cloth only to find out there was more of the attic to be found behind several boxes. It was actually much bigger than Riza had originally thought. Her father had been the one to come up here the most.

"That's it," he said. They carried it downstairs and Roy got to work making the gloves using alchemy.

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"You're leaving tomorrow," Riza stated over dinner. He looked up at her to see she was staring at her plate.

"Yeah," he said and looked down at his own plate. The room was silent as they ate. She took the dishes to the sink but didn't wash them. Roy grabbed her hand and lead her away, sitting on the couch he pulled her down with him. They sat there in silence for a while.

"Would you wait for me?" he asked her. She sat up straight, surprise gracing her features. He turned to her.

"Wait for me, until I get my state alchemy license and...marry me?" he asked. She didn't answer with words, instead she kissed him softly, cupping his face in her hands. She pulled back just enough to whisper a yes.

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He left the following day. Riza sat alone in her house, she felt like crying at the silence of it all. Her father was gone and so was Roy. There were no papers rustling or books being slammed, no noise at all. She looked over at her gun cabinet, grabbed a rifle and went out into the back yard.

She walked into the woods to her normal practice area and began to shoot. Even that was becoming too easy and was quite boring. She went back to the house after only a few shots and looked down at her dreaded pistols.

She was great with the rifles her grandfather had given her but pistols and other handgun varieties eluded her. She picked them up and put them in a case with ammo. She carried them up to the practice area she was previously at and loaded them. She set up her targets with the painted bull's eye on them.

She grabbed one of the guns and took aim. She hit the target far better than anyone who had only shot them a handful of times would have but she didn't hit the bull's eye. She decided then and there that until Roy contacted her or came back she would put her focus into this.

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A few months passed by and she received no letters or any contact from Roy. She could hit that bull's eye in her sleep now with those guns and she took pride in that. She got many letters from her grandfather, as always, telling her to come and live with him. Then on one particular day she was tempted, the day she received a letter from Roy.

She was excited until she read the contents. It merely read, 'Stop waiting, I am not worth it.' She threw it down and in an uncharacteristic action for her she picked up the nearby gun on the side table and shot the china cabinet. The china shattered into pieces along with the glass of the cabinet. Tears ran down her face and her heart was as shattered as the glass.

She had known better, She knew not to get her hopes up because her hopes were always broken. Nothing was ever going to be right for her.

She happened to glance down at the paper and saw an advert for the acceptance of new students into the Amestris military academy. She made her decision right there. She would join the military and become the best sharpshooter there. She would show Roy Mustang that he wasn't what her world revolved around. She grinned slightly, grandfather would help her with that. For once little Riza was going to take advantage of some connections.

She was so focused on her decision she didn't see the part about the tensions going on in Ishbal. . .

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_**AN: I know the chapter feels rushed and that was purely intentional. I have reasons why I did so. Please review. :) **_


	16. Expecting

**_Best Kept Secret_**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 16: Expecting**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own my idea.**

**AN: Here is Maes, as promised. This chapter is back in the present time. :) A not very detailed lemon is in this chapter.**

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**  
**

**EXPECTING**

A year in Amestris passed by and the day was an average one. Average temperatures, average paperwork…average, average, average. It drove Roy nuts, why couldn't anything exciting ever happen around that dump. This city was supposed to be exciting, invigorating!

"Second Lieutenant?" he said aloud. Riza sighed inwardly and looked up from her paperwork.

"Yes Lt. Colonel?" she replied.

"I am bored," he said.

"Do your paperwork sir," she responded dryly.

He heaved a sigh and grabbed a pen. Suddenly Maes Hughes rushed through the door causing Roy to get ready to snap and Riza to stand and draw her gun in an instant. Maes wasn't even fazed by his two fellow officers, who were poised for attack. Riza holstered her gun before saluting, Maes waved it off and she sat back down.

"Guess what Roy!?" he said excitedly.

"I don't want to," he replied.

"Awwwww…Come on guess," he replied.

"No," Roy responded.

Riza hid a smirk, watching the two of them was always very amusing, they were like brothers and they acted like it. Maes always got on Roy's nerves. She listened in as she did her paperwork.

"PLEAAASE!"  
"No," Roy responded yet again with the same tone as his other denials.

"OH Come on! You will never guess in a million years!"

"Then why do you want me to guess if I can't guess?" Roy said looking up at Maes. By this time Riza was looking at the two grown men as well, Roy's words and the look on Maes' face were priceless. She did her best to hold back a smile and snicker as she stood and walked over to the filing cabinet situated beside Roy.

"Oh…Okay then…" Maes replied before screaming "I AM GONNA BE A DADDY!!!! GRACIA'S PREGNANT! WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A BABY! A LITTLE ANGEL FROM ANOTHER ANGEL!" He kept reiterating the fact over and over again.

"MAES!" Roy said standing up. "I think you have established that enough to the point where I can understand."

"Oh," he said.

Roy smiled at his friend. "Congratulations buddy," he said.

Maes hugged Roy tightly.

"Let go of me Maes," Roy said. Maes soon let go and Roy sat back down.

"We want you to come to dinner at the house tonight. We have something we want to discuss with you."

"Very well, I will be there," he said.

"Good, it's at eight," he said and then walked over to Riza who was still filing.

"That invite is for you as well Lieutenant," he said. "I hope you can make it."

She nodded, "I can make it," she said.

"GREAT!" Maes exclaimed, putting his hands in his pockets. "Well, I've got work to do. See you tonight." When Maes left the room Roy chuckled.

"He's something else," he stated.

"Yes sir," she said. She closed the filing cabinet, moving back to her desk she grabbed a pen and began filling out paperwork.

"Second Lieutenant."

"Yes?" she said, not so much as looking up from her work.

"What do you think of children?" Roy asked. She looked up at him and smiled.

"I think they are great," she said simply and looked back down.

"So do I," he said. Riza smiled slightly and continued working.

Roy watched as Riza did her paperwork. Kids, he never really thought of the fact that he and Riza could have kids one day. Little Roy's and Riza's running around. The fact that they would have something that their love had created filled Roy with an unfamiliar emotion. Whatever it was, he knew it would be tenfold if they were ever to have a baby.

* * *

That night Roy and Riza were getting ready to go to the Hughes. Roy was sifting through his closet when he heard his door open and heels on the floor, Riza walked through the door as Roy looked at her appreciatively. She was wearing a simple green dress that came to the tip of her knees; it hugged her curves but not too tightly. Roy loved it when she dressed so feminine. 

Riza restrained herself when she saw his muscles glistening under the light. Riza frowned at him, while inwardly her mind was telling her to do something else.

_That is your husband. Jump his bones. You know you want him. _

Heat pooled in her stomach but she refrained from any kind of sexual instigation.

"You haven't even finished dressing?" she said and walked over to her shirtless husband. She moved over to his top dresser drawer and pulled out a clean dress shirt. Taking it over to him she caught a whiff of his after shave, instead of handing him the shirt she set it on the table right beside him. He looked confused as to why she did it until she pushed him against the wall and attacked his lips.

"Riz..." he tried to say but her lips cut him off. He felt her hands down at his belt, she unbuckled it without any problems and carefully unzipped his pants. She pulled away from his lips and trailed kisses down his neck slowly.

"What are you doing? We have to get to Mae's house."

She pulled away from his neck and looked him dead in the eyes.

"Shut up," she said, as her hands moved from her work on his pants, to encircling his neck. She kissed him and reached one hand down to pull down his pants as the other one fisted his hair. When she brought her lips to his once more, this time he eagerly kissed back. He reversed their positions so she was against the wall then trailed his hand down her body, he pulled up the bottom of the dress and tugged her underwear down.

Meanwhile she'd managed to get his pants and boxers down. He lifted her up before sliding her down onto his member, filling her up. He carried her over to his bed, lying on his back; she began moving up and down her moans in time with her movements. His hands were on her waist as her inner body grew tighter and tighter around his manhood, he soon found himself moaning as Riza's pace grew more and more ferocious the closer she came to climax. Roy flipped her over onto her back and began thrusting into her quickly. Her moans filled the room and soon both reached the end and fell together, slowly Roy pulled out of her and fell onto his back beside her.

Riza was breathing roughly an occasional moan leaving her throat.

"Thank you," she said, when she could finally form a sentence. He leaned over her and kissed her lips, dipping his tongue in her mouth slightly before pulling back to look into her eyes.

"I wish we could do more but we have a dinner that we have to get to," she said, the disappointment evident in her voice.

She kissed him and sat up pulling her dress back the way it was and watching as Roy got dressed. He buckled his belt and slipped on his dress shirt. She stood, going over to him and buttoning his shirt, each time kissing his chest until the shirt was buttoned completely up. Then she kissed his chin.

"What is wrong with you today? Usually I am the one horny at inopportune times."

She frowned and he laughed, grabbing her purse from the nearby chair she walked out.

"Don't be too late," she yelled as the door closed. He smiled and secretly wished that he could go with her, arrive with her at the same time. However, if they were to do that he would never hear the end of it from Maes.

* * *

He grabbed his coat and slipped it on. He waited ten minutes before leaving the apartment and drove to Hughes house in around ten minutes. Before he could knock Maes opened the door, he always did that, it was like he was psychic. He ushered Roy in and pulled him to the side. 

"I must give you fair warning. Riza is a knock out tonight," he said.

"Maes," Roy said, feigning annoyance, as he walked away and Gracia greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.

"Hello sir," Riza said.

"Lieutenant," Roy greeted back.

"Doesn't she look great Roy?" Gracia said. Despite the fact Roy was her husband and had already seen her in the dress (as well as out of it) she blushed.

"Yes, she does," he replied, Gracia and Maes were meant to be that was for damn sure.

"Why don't we have dinner and then Maes and I have something to ask you," she said.

Dinner went smoothly and soon the group of adults were sitting in the living room drinking coffee.

"As you both know, Gracia and I are going to have a baby soon. We realized that we would need godparents for the baby just in case anything happened to us. The two of you were the first people we thought of."

"So, would you two consider being the legal godparents to our baby?" she asked.

Riza and Roy were shocked. Riza was the first to recover. "Are you sure? I mean..." she didn't know what to say; she looked at Roy who was in a similar state.

"We couldn't be more sure," Maes said.

"Then, of course I'd love to be. I am honored," she said.

"How about you Roy?" Maes asked.

"Yes, of course buddy," he said with a smirk.

Roy and Riza left the Hughes soon after and made their way home. They showered separately before Roy walked over to Riza's apartment. Opening the door with his key, he went inside and locked the door behind him. He went to the bedroom where he saw that Riza was already in bed. Going over, he slipped off his slippers and got into bed with her. She opened her eyes, smiling while scooting closer to him and he took her in his arms.

They just lay there in silence for the longest time.

"I don't feel like I deserve it," Roy finally said.

"Me either," she replied. He stared at her face, which was illuminated by the moonlight shining through the crack between the curtains; he kissed her lips softly then pulled away. "But they think we do," she said. "If the fact that we are their child's godparents make them feel secure and happy then I am fine with it."

"Couldn't have said it better," he said. "We will probably be dead before them anyhow."  
"Probably," she replied ruefully, they chuckled slightly before drifting off to sleep.

"Come on Roy!" Maes said bursting into the room. It was lunchtime and Riza had left to go to lunch with Gracia. Which for Roy equaled being aggravated by Maes during his lunch break. He was eating left over beef stew that Riza had made, along with a peanut butter sandwich.

"Go where?" Roy said after taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Shopping!" he said.

"Shopping?" Roy repeated, confused by his friend. Maes grabbed him as he popped the last bit of his sandwich into his mouth.

"For baby stuff!" he said, not giving Roy time to protest as they left the office.

* * *

"Aren't women supposed to be the ones to do this kind of stuff?" Roy said, as they stood inside one of the largest baby stores in Amestris. 

"Roy! That was a sexist remark!" he said, as he looked at all the strollers.

"Oops," Roy said sarcastically.

"Look at this one!" Maes said. "Oh and this one is nice as well," Maes looked at each stroller very carefully.

"What do you think?" Maes asked Roy

"They are all the same to me," he replied, hearing whispers behind him.

"That's a typical man for you," one said.

"I know!" the other said. Roy turned, expecting to find two gossiping women but instead it was too, feminine-like men. Roy turned around and walked away slowly.

By the end of the lunch break Maes had bought several things. Roy didn't like the way the cashier was looking at them, she had a smile on her face.

"I think this is wonderful," she said.

"What is?" Roy replied.

"That despite the obstacles facing the two of you, you are still adopting a child!" Roy's face dropped. Right when Roy was ready to explain Maes had to say, "Oh we aren't adopting."

It was the cashier's turn to be shocked; Roy pushed Maes out the door before proceeding to explain the situation to the cashier. He couldn't have a rumor going around central that he was gay. If It did Riza would certainly be confused.

* * *

_**AN: Hope you liked it. Next chapter goes back to flashbacks. Roy and Riza meet in Ishbal. **_


	17. Academy Days

_**Best Kept Secret**_

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 17: Academy Days**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own my idea. **

_**AN: PLEASE READ! ****I would just like to say that the previous chapter started the story back in the present time. I announced it in my author notes in the previous chapter. Therefore, I just wanted to clear up any confusion. I don't want my readers confused and confuzzeled after all. The flashback ended when Riza decided to go to the academy. In this chapter, we will go back to flashbacks. I promise the story will heat up in just a bit. ****J I have it labeled when flashbacks begin again. I figured it would be fun to see a bit of the training Riza went through.**_

* * *

**Academy Days: Part 1**

_Note: Please read the authors notes. Very important concerning the flashbacks. In addition, this hasn't been betaed. It is in the process of being betaed but I don't have that version back yet. The betaed version will be posted soon._

_-------------------------- _

Gracia and Riza were sitting at a table outside of a small café. Their menus were in their hands and they were reading them quietly. Gracia casually peaked over her menu at Riza. She studied the woman before her and thought of how much she admired her. Although she was a homemaker, a career in itself, she admired women who took care of themselves and had a career. She knew Riza would get far because she worked so hard.

The waiter arrived and they ordered. Their menus were taken and Gracia started up a conversation.

"May I ask you a personal question?" she asked.

Riza looked surprised but then nodded.

"Why did you join the military?"

"Why not?" Riza asked.

"They're not many women in the military at all and you are extremely intelligent, I can tell. So why didn't you choose a career that puts that intelligence to better use."

"Are you saying I don't use my brain?" Riza teased.

"No! It's not that! I mean there are more rewarding careers than what you are in now. Right?"

"I suppose so," Riza said, and then though for a moment. "At first I wanted to show someone that I wasn't a helpless little girl. I wanted to show that I could hold my own and take care of myself. Therefore, I joined the military academy. The longer I was there, the more I realized that I needed to prove those very things to myself as well."

"I see," she said. "Why a sniper?" she asked.

"I was already good with guns," she replied. "I actually studied investigation with a focus in arson at the academy."

Gracia laughed, "That's kind of ironic."

"Why is that?" Riza asked.

"Arson investigations. . . And you work under the flame alchemist."

"Yes, I suppose it is rather ironic isn't it," she replied.

"Was the academy difficult for you?" Gracia asked.

"At first, I was one of three women in the class at the time. I had to work even harder than the men did because I was a woman. Everyone always gave women a hard time. I don't know if it's gotten better or not. I know that when I was one of ten snipers picked for Ishbal I got more respect from my fellow soldiers."  
"Ishbal? You were there?" she said in shock.

"I figured your husband told you that?"

"No, he didn't," she replied.

"I see," Riza said. The waiter brought their food and they began eating.

* * *

_**Flashback. . . . **_

Riza arrived at central academy for orientation fifteen minutes early and took a seat in the back of the room. A young black haired woman walked in and took a seat beside her. She smiled at Riza and extended her hand. "Hello, my name is Anne Yule." Riza smiled politely and shook the woman's hand. She was older than she was but Riza was slightly relieved to see another female there at orientation.

"Riza Hawkeye," she replied.

Soon the other new students filed in. Most of them were a good deal older than she was and they were men. After everyone was gathered, several officers entered the room via the side of the stage. Everyone in the room stood and saluted the officers. During the speeches, Riza paid close attention to what the officers were saying. She didn't want to mess up; apparently, several soldiers fell asleep and were promptly escorted out of the building. Riza gathered that the long speeches were part of a weeding out process to see who would actually listen. She straightened her posture even more, if that was possible and paid even closer attention absorbing every word. She would be dammed if she would be kicked out of the academy.

Three soldiers in front of her were kicked out and the officers stared at her and the woman beside her. They nodded once and walked away. Riza didn't relax for a moment. She wouldn't until she got by herself. She'd always been rather stoic, the completely stiff presentation they wanted wouldn't be hard for her to accomplish.

Riza was bunked with Anne, as she expected. After all, they were only women in the class grade.

"So, what made you join the military?" Anne said after they finished packing and went for lunch.

Before Riza could answer, the door opened and in walked another woman. She had black hair and dark eyes. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail that hung low on her back. Her naturally dark red lips smiled widely. "I assume I am in the right place considering there are only three women in this class and you are two of them," she stated, with laughter. Riza and Anne nodded. The new woman walked over to the third of the four bunks in the room. She sat down her suitcase with a sigh and walked over to the two women. "Then name is Gretchen Tanner," she said, extending her hand to Riza. Riza shook it and then she did the same to Anne who shook it as well.

"We didn't see you at orientation," Anne said.

"Oh? Oh! She took the uniform hat out of her suitcase and put her hair up in it. "I was there you just didn't realize I was a woman. Damn these small breasts of mine."

Riza and Anne looked at each other and smiled.

"I've told you my name, now what are yours?"

"Riza Hawkeye," Riza said.

"Anne Yule," Anne replied.

"Well it looks like we are going to be here with each other for the next few years," she said, flopping down on the bed. "It's nice to meet you both."

------------------

"This is your gun training exercise. Here you will learn to fire a gun with accuracy. A gun is a man's best friend on the battlefield." When he said man's the officer made a point to glare at Riza. She showed no emotion as he did so but the other cadets snickered a bit. The officer did that to her deliberately so he didn't call the male cadets down. She wouldn't let it get to her. She would show him she was as tough and good as any man was.

"I am your instructor, Colonel Thomas Kent. I expect only the best from my men so you will conduct yourself properly befitting a cadet of the Amestris military. All right then, when I call your name step up to the shooting area and show me what skill you have. I need to know how much skill you have. He started down the list the first man stepped up and loaded the gun. He aimed and when the instructor yelled fire the man fired off the rounds in the gun three times and lowered it. He got three shoulder shots.

"Good job cadet but next time unload all the rounds and try to shoot different parts of the body." The cadet unloaded his gun and saluted the officer before getting back in line. Several other cadets stepped up and a few of them got near the heart but most was shoulder or stomach shots.

"Next up is Cadet Riza Hawkeye," the officer said. Riza stepped up to the shooting area. The officer began to tell her how to load the gun, being the smart-ass sexist man he was, but stopped when she did it herself. "Cadet, I didn't give you permission to load that gun. I was going through the process of explaining how to do so."

"All due respect sir, but you didn't explain it to the other cadets. I don't need it either."

"You could get kicked out for insubordination cadet," he snapped.

"And you can get fired for being a sexist pig," Riza said back to him. She mentally slapped herself. Why did she say that?

The other cadets were in shock at her insubordinate actions, but the officer just looked at her. She had a calm, cool look to her features. He withheld a grin; this girl would make one hell of an officer. He always gave females a hard time because they would be dealing with sexism their entire military career. It usually took him longer to wager whether a woman would make it in the military, just seeing her reaction, her confidence; he knew she would be in for the long hall.

"You may begin," he said.

Before she could fire a round, another cadet spoke up. "You aren't going to punish her sir?"

The officer glared at the cadet. "Drop and give me twenty," he said.

"Sir?" the cadet asked, in a questioning tone.

"You heard me cadet, and make that forty and throw in twenty sit-ups while you are at it!" he snapped. The cadet grumbled and began his pushups. The officer turned back to Riza.

"Now cadet, let's try this again. You may begin when ready."

She turned around and fired rapidly at the target, emptying all the rounds out of the gun. It seemed as if she wasn't even aiming.

The instruction walked over to her after she put the gun down. "Now cadet it is important to take. . . "He trailed off when he looked up at the target. All the shots were in critical areas. He pressed the button and the target came over to him. He took it down and examined it, then looked back up to her in shock. The other cadets in the room couldn't make it out but were shocked at their instructor's expression. They automatically figured it was something horrible.

"Bet ya she's getting kicked out for being such a lousy shot," a cadet whispered.

"Yea," the other cadet chuckled.

The instruction put back another target and sent it out further than the last one. "Reload and shoot again. This time as fast as you can."

She picked up the gun, loaded the ammo, and fired off the rounds in less than a minute. She placed the gun down on the table and the officer retrieved the target. Once again, the shots were in the critical areas of the target. He nodded and started writing on his clipboard.

"You are dismissed for the day; you have no need to hear what I will tell the others. You are already more than qualified to pass this section of the course. Your accuracy is at 99. 8 percent."

The other cadets couldn't keep their gasps to themselves. How could a young woman shoot like that? She was only seventeen years old!

"If it is alright with you sir, I would like to stay," she replied.

"If you wish it. Are you experienced with rifles?"

"Yes sir," she replied. He took a key from his pocket and handed it to her. "Go in the gun room and pick a rifle and four boxes of ammo. I want you to practice with it."

She took the key from him and left the room.

The instructor turned to the other cadets and yelled for their attention. They instantly stood at attention, and he began calling names once again.

----------

Riza continued to impress her instructors. She didn't realize just how much until one day Colonel Kent came to her dorm.

"I've talked with your other instructors and we have all come to the same conclusion about you. We have recognized that you are training in investigations with a specialty in arson but we have recommended that you be accepted into the sniper training program effective ASAP if you wish it."

"Sir? Isn't that only for men?"

"The head of the program has discussed it with the fuehrer and they have decided that an exception will be made because of your extraordinary physical skills, education, and shooting ability. So do you accept Lieutenant?"

"Yes sir, of course," she said.

Kent stood and saluted. "I hope to hear good things about you in the coming years," he said.

"Sir!" she replied and saluted.

------------------------

Riza sat among thirty men in a large conference area, while expecting to be mocked for being the only woman; she was actually accepted quite well. The thing that surprised her most was that she could tell that it wasn't a force acceptance. When the cadet that introduced himself first noticed her slight surprise, he elaborated. It was the fact that she got into the program at all that she was automatically treated as respectfully. Most spoke to her telling her how impressed they were about her getting in the program at seventeen years old.

The instructor soon walked in and nodded. He was a gruff person that looked to be in his late forties. He spoke in a strong booming voice that no doubt brought fear to those that he yelled at. Riza inwardly hoped that she would not be on of those.

"I am General Liam Homes. As I am sure you are aware, those of you in this room were recommended by instructors to be the best candidates to be snipers in our great Amestris military. You are thirty out of the 2000 cadets that applied to be accepted in this program. However, just because you were accepted does not mean that you will become a sniper in fact, only half of you, if that many, will make the cut. Now with that cleared up let us get started. There are five elements of sniper training. You will do good to remember every detail so I suggest that you take notes like Cadet Hawkeye is doing." She looked up at him and he nodded roughly. The other cadets took out notebooks and began their note taking as well.

"Number one, a gunfight is a gunfight. There are differences such as the basic physics concerning the bullets and type of gun but dynamic wise they are the same. First, you must identify your target then determine what category your target is. Is it a terrorist, assassin, a sniper, foot solder? Acquire your target and engage. Be prepared to follow up with additional support if needed."

"Sir," Riza asked.

"Yes, Hawkeye," he said.

"What if no support is available after the target has been neutralized," she asked.

"Then those are the cases when your best judgment comes into play," he said. She nodded and wrote it down.

"Number two, think and train in real life terms. This means that even though our training at first will be conduction on with an adjusted range on well-lit days. You will eventually be required to use your skills on less than convenient days. You must be able to find your threats, reload, press-check, and fire your rifle by tactical ways alone. This is regardless of the current situation conditions.

Number three is pretty much a given; don't run out of ammo. Reload instantly following each shot. I have found that in other armies that the snipers take their shot then sit and contemplate before reloading the rifle. First, reload your gun immediately, second, don't contemplate your previous shot. Most likely you have killed your target and you must keep your mind on acquiring another target."

Chills came to Riza but she withheld a shutter. She couldn't believe she was hearing this. She was going to be something that was made to take a life. Snipers were trained to kill and there she was sitting there listening to someone tell her how to kill. She tried to calm herself. The military was good, it wouldn't ask her to kill someone that didn't deserve it, or that wasn't a threat to the good of Amestris. She brought her attention back to General Homes as he was approaching the fourth of the five.

"Number four is that the minute of angle or MOA means nothing in a gunfight. Accuracy is only the first requirement when choosing a sniper rifle. Remember that one must have a rifle that is reliable for consistent shots. You need a rifle that will take up the strain of the high-pressure situations.

Number five requires you to become a ballistic expert of sorts. That is how you hit your target. You must account for wind changes, weather, and the elevation from which you are shooting or where your target is. If you can accomplish these five basic principals, you will be an excellent sniper. Now, enough words. Tomorrow you will begin your weapons training. You are dismissed. When they all stood he said, "On second though Cadets." They all stopped. I want you all to stay back for a moment." He then sat down and proceeded to question each cadet.

"Cadet Hawkeye, how long have you been shooting?" he asked.

"Eight years sir," she said.

"I see," he said. The room grew quite as the General continued to read the sheet in front of him. The students were growing impatient a bit because it was the last class and time for her to get back to the dorms before lights out. They'd be in serious trouble if they were caught out after lights out, regardless of an officer keeping them late.

As time past, Riza realized they it was two hours past lights out. His thoughts were interrupted by General Homes dismissing the group. They all left the class and went their separate ways. Riza began walking toward her dorm when she heard someone call her name. She turned to see the brown haired young man that was sitting beside her in class and three other men walk up to her.

"Mind if we walk with you? You are going to the Alpha dorm right?"

"Yes I am heading that way and no, I don't mind."

"Oh, by the way, my name is Ramsey Taylor." The other men introduced themselves as, Patrick Ulen, Jason Hager, and Daniel White.

"My name is Riza Hawkeye," she said. They began walking to the dorms.

"I wonder why the instructor kept us in class so long. It's strange. Doesn't he know that this could get us reprimanded and one reprimanded can get us kicked out of the sniper squad," Jason said.

"We will just have to find a way to sneak in," Patrick said.

Riza stopped dead in her tracks as they approached the dorms. "Hey, what's the deal?" Ramsey asked.

"Sneak in," she said simply.

"Sneak in?" Ramsey questioned. His eyes widened with realization. "I see," he said. He turned to the other four men. "Sneak in…what are we training to be?"

"Snipers…oh I see…" Patrick said.

"So you think this is a test to see how good we would be in covertness," Daniel said.

"Yes," Riza replied. "I also think that it's a test to see how well we all can work together."

"Then lets show him," Ramsey said.

"Well we need to get out of the light," Riza said. They all ran toward the shade of the tree, staying as close to the ground as they could. They huddled behind some bushes.

"The guards, does anyone remember where they are placed during lights out," Ramsey asked.

"I know there's one that roams the inside of the dorms," Patrick said.

"Two at the entrance door," Riza said.

"There are two at the back exit as well," Jason said.

Riza looked around and spotted a tree right smack dap in the front of a window beside the dorm. Unfortunately, only half was in the dark and the branches are high up.

"That tree," Riza said, motioning to it.

"What about it?"

"Think you can throw me up into it?" Riza asked.

"Sure, but look at the area around it, it's all light. If we were to go out into it, we'd. . . Ramsey trailed off when he saw a very small ledge of darkness around the building.

She took off her uniform jacket. "Turn around, and take off your white shirts and anything else visible that is white," she said.

The men turned around as Riza took off her white uniform shirt. She made a mental note to go to the uniform office and get one of those tight dark brown shirts that soldiers often wore under their uniforms.

"Alright, you can turn back around," she said, after putting her jacket back on and buttoning it up. "Stay low and stick to the shadows," she said.

"Right," they all whisper. Ramsey smiled; Riza really knew what she was doing.

They made their way to the tree and were sure to stay in the shade part. Riza surveyed the tree and found the strongest branch. They would have to launch her at a very slight angle to get to it. Ramsey and Jason kneeled and cupped their hands together while Daniel and Patrick stayed in the darker shade, on the lookout for someone coming their way. It was better that at least one made instead of none. At least a few of them wouldn't be reprimanded.

Riza stepped in their cupped hands and they launched her up into the tree. She managed to grab a hold of the branch and pulled herself up. Then Daniel ran to take Ramsey's place, he cupped his hands with Jason and they launched Ramsey up.

"The branch isn't strong enough for more than two. We will unlock a lower window when we get in and let you all in," Riza said.

"Right," Daniel whispered. He and Jason made their way back into the shade as Ramsey and Riza slowly stalked across the branch. They came to the window and tried to reach over and open it. Unfortunately, it was locked.

"Damn it, what now?" Ramsey said. Riza looked down and to her relief; a window was open.

"Grab my hands and lower my feet to the ledge outside the lower window."

Ramsey nodded. He took her hands and lowered her down from the branch to the ledge of the window. He then let go one hand at a time when she got a grip. She stuck her head in the window and saw two men were sleeping in their bunks. She snuck inside and crawled through their room. She quietly took out her handkerchief and unlocked the door. She left the room, being sure to lock the door back. She slowly made her way up the stairs to where she knew Ramsey was waiting at the tree. It was the reference area of the dorm so getting to the window and unlocking it wasn't a problem. Ramsey came inside and nodded to her.

Both of them slowly made their way down the stairs again until they got to the first floor. They opened the window and the others snuck inside.

"What floor is your dorm on?" Ramsey asked.

"Fourth," Riza said.

"So is mine," Jason said.

"Ours are on the second," said Ramsey.

They suddenly heard a voice saying, "I am going to check the main hall."

That is where they were standing. They slowly but quickly made their way around the counter in the hall as the soldier walked in. They took a step when he did, so their footsteps wouldn't be heard. When he stopped, they would stop. They lowered their breathing to where they were almost holding their breath. When the soldier began walking once again and went into the other room the small group of snipers in training began up the stairs. Ramsey, Patrick, and Daniel said goodnight to Jason and Riza on the second floor and Jason and Riza made it to the third when they noticed that the lights were on. They heard a cadet being berated because he broke the lights out policy. The soldier finished and turned out the light in the hall. Riza and Jason heard his footsteps and made their way back down to the second floor.

"Which way is your dorm, right or left?"

"Left," he said.

"So is mine," she replied. They heard the soldier walk down the steps and they ducked into a closet. As they heard the clank of his keys on his belt pass by they waited a moment before slipping out and up the stairs to the third then the fourth floor. They both made their way to their dorm rooms.

"It's been a pleasure sneaking in with you," Jason joked.

Riza couldn't help but smile slightly at the young man before entering her room.

She quickly showered and got into bed, without as much as disturbing her two roommates. As she lay in bed, she thought about what had happened that night. She'd never talked to people as much as she did those men. The only person that she talked that much with was Mustang. She found herself missing those dark eyes and that beautiful black hair, and then she instantly scolded herself. He didn't care for her so there was no need to dwell on the past. He probably was somewhere living it up.

-----------------

Ishbal Desert

Roy Mustang took another swing of some kind of alcohol concoction that his friend Maes Hughes had found. It wasn't anything he'd ever tasted but it numbed the pain of the things he had done, even if only for a while. One didn't need to be completely sober to murder people after all.

The drunker he got the more his thoughts dwelled on a beautiful blonde he knew. When he looked back it was as if that time was a whole other life that he had. He wasn't the same person that he was then, but he could still remember her skin against his, his hands roaming her body, his lips kissing hers. He remembered her small whimpers as he kissed that spot under her ear.

He suddenly wiped those thoughts from his head. She probably hated him now anyway. If she didn't now, then when she found out the things he'd done with her father's alchemy, she would.

* * *

_AN: The five sniping rules came from my dad, stuff I've learned, from other resources that I have. I hope they weren't boring. I always found them interesting but then again, I've been shooting a long long time. J The next chapter…Roy and Riza meet in Ishbal. Please review. _


	18. Academy Days Pt 2 :Sent to Ishbal

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 18: Academy Days Pt2 **

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own my idea. **

**AN: Thanks to all those that read this story and stay faithful to it. I know the chapters take a while but I have many other stories to update as well. I am almost done with my Sailor Moon fic, which means more focus can be put forth on this fic. **

**Note: This is unbetaed. I send the file to drex and will replace this with the betaed version when I get it. **

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**Academy Days Pt2 **

Riza was surprise to see the group she sneaked in the dorms with waiting on her at the doors the following morning at 0800. Apparently, she let her mask of neutrality slip because Ramsey realized she was a bit confused at seeing them.

"Seeing as we all are from the same dorm and studying sniping we figured we'd wait on you. After all, I think we'd all make excellent friends."

Friend was a foreign term to Riza. She'd never had them, though she inwardly wished she'd had them. Wished she been accepted like everyone else was. Now here were four people offering her that. Albeit they were men, but whom really cared. If last night was any indication, she was liked and respected by them and she liked and respected them. Wasn't that the way that friendships started out?

She smiled slightly at the group and nodded. "All right, thank you all very much," she said. They laughed and Jason and Daniel swung their arms around her shoulders as they would if she was one of the guys. Ramsey and Patrick just laughed and they headed to class. They broke apart and went into the classroom. They were shocked to see only six people sitting at the seats. Only yesterday, the room was full.

"So you made it too?" One young man said to them.

"Made it?"

"The General stopped the other people in the class and told them to go to the main hall and redo their schedules. They are no longer in the program. Apparently, the exercise of him keeping us last night was for us to sneak in. The others just walked in and told them they were late or they were caught. If you all weren't stopped you must have figured it out and made it in all right."

"Damn, we have to keep on our toes with this guy. If it hadn't been for Riza here we probably would have gotten caught."

"Well I for one didn't expect her to get caught anyway." He smiled at her. "I heard about the incident in the shooting class. It's all over the academy how a seventeen year old girl showed up every male cadet in the class."

"Eighteen actually," she replied.

"Really, so they got the age wrong? Tell me at least the rumors true."

"No, it's all true it's just I am not seventeen now," she said. Then she cursed herself. She shouldn't have said that.

"But the incident happened the day before yesterday. Was your birthday yesterday?" Ramsey asked.

She just walked to her seat.

"Hey, was it?" Jason prodded, taking the seat to her right.

"No," she said with a sigh.

"That means it is today!" Ramsey said with a smile and took the seat on her left. Riza nodded.

"Well boys! Looks like we need to take Riza drinking," Ramsey said.

She looked at him in surprise. "You have to be twenty one to drink," she said.

"Maybe that's the case where you are from but here in central you have to be eighteen," he said. "So where are we going to take her boys."

She looked at him sternly. "If you think for a moment that I am going drinking with a group of men you have to be off your rocker!" she snapped. They all turned to her and laughed.

"Boy's she's coming out of that shell as we speak," Patrick teased.

She glared at him. He was sitting in front of her beside Daniel. She shied away.

"If you won't go drinking with us then invite your dorm mates. I assume they are girls right?" Ramsey said.

"Of course!" she snapped again.

"Well then it's settled. No training tomorrow means a night of drinking to celebrate Riza's birthday tonight," he replied. He turned to her. "Right?" he said.

Riza sighed, she was eighteen and in central. Why not have a bit of adventure?

"Well well, last nights exercise certainly weeded the group out didn't it?" The General Homes said walking into the room. They all stood and saluted him. "At ease and have a seat," he said. They all did as they were told.

"So, obviously, you twelve either figured out it was an exercise and sneaked in, or sneaked in of your own accord for the hell of it. Most of the people that didn't pass my little test assumed that if they gave proper reason they would be allowed in the dorms. That was their first mistake. They assumed, and assumptions are dangerous. I only had one other man try to sneak in and he was caught. He didn't give up what happened or made excuses. One of the resident officers is speaking to him now and he will be here shortly. That will make twelve of you."

"Sir, all due respect but if he was caught then why let him stay in?"

"Because he didn't make an excuse or reveal others. As a sniper, it is your job to stay in the shadows true but one must also not give away other positions. When questioned by the guards he refused to reveal the others that were sneaking in. That takes guts and character. That is also what it takes to be a sniper."

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Riza couldn't believe she was sitting there in a bar, in central with a group of men and two other women. When she invited Gretchen and Anne, they leaped at the chance for a drink. Riza had never been the type to socialize, but with this group, she couldn't help but open up a bit more than usual. They all sat in the small bar in a booth. The waiter brought their drinks over. She'd had very little experience with drinking but knew that the few members she'd been told about in her family were known for holding their liquor.

The group had ordered the strongest thing in the bar for her. She had protested to the best of her ability but they all insisted. It was an initiation of sorts. The waiter sat the drink in front of her and the group stared.

"Well, go ahead!" Gretchen said.

"Why are you all staring?" she said.

"We want to watch your reaction," Anne said.

"So you want a good laugh when I cough up my guts huh?" Riza said, raising an eyebrow. Ramsey smiled.

"Yea, pretty much," he said.

Riza sighed, picked up the drink and took the shot all at once. They all gather closer and Riza sat the drink down. When she didn't react, they all looked at her in shock. She looked at them sternly. "Was that some kind of joke?" she said.

"What?" Daniel asked.

"Why in the hell did you give me water to drink? If alcohol is that weak, I don't want it. I can get a better burn from seltzer water."

"Riza! That was the strongest drink here!"

"Then it sucks," she stated bluntly. The entire group fell in the floor.

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Riza found herself opening up a bit to her new group of friends. Her training was going great even though it was the toughest things she'd ever done. She had never tried to have expectations for things but she realized that she subconsciously had expectations for sniper training. She knew it was going to be tough but she hadn't realized exactly how tough.

She'd qualified with all weapons necessary with 97 percent accuracy. Her physical requirements were what gave her a headache. She had no idea that they were that strict. At first, she was going for army sniping but decided to go ahead and get her marine branch of the requirements as well. That way she would qualify for both. She had no problem with the three-mile run and completed it well above the necessary minutes. It was the same for the pull-ups and sit-ups.

The swimming was a different matter. When she heard about it, she was quite nervous. She'd never liked water and rarely if ever swam. That is where Ramsey was a godsend. He said that he was a fish in his past life. Riza didn't believe in past lives but was thankful for his help. She completed the swimming qualifications by the skin of her teeth. Her hate for water on intensified after that but it was unavoidable. Ramsey, who turned out to be her partner for the rest of the exercises continued to tease her with that fact.

She'd become close friends with him through everything. She was only the second man that she'd talked that closely with, Roy being the first one. They weren't as close as she and Roy obviously but it was nice to be able to open up to someone else. Not that Gretchen and Anne weren't great, but they weren't in sniper training.

After going through all that and getting all her field qualifications then came the written portion. She never had a problem with reading and studying but low and behold; the men did. That is where she came in. She helped them study everything. The night before the final written exam, they all went over the necessary things they needed to know. They studied everything from tasks of a sniper to the application of camouflage makeup if it was necessary.

The makeup was a lot of fun however. . . At Jason's expense. It seemed he had more experience applying makeup than even Riza. He blamed being able to use the camo sticks on growing up in a house full of sisters. Obviously, the group teased him about it. Riza even cracked out about him having a drag queen alter ego name Jastonia.

Soon everyone left Riza's room except Ramsey. He was sitting beside Riza on the bed and they were still going over some final lessons.

"State the mission of a sniper," Riza said to him.

"The mission of a sniper is to identify, target, and shoot, key enemy personnel," Ramsey answered.

Riza and he continued to quiz each other until finally they realized they could know no more. Riza laid the book on her desk and looked around. Anne and Gretchen had leave that night so they went to see their families in central. She would have leave tomorrow after the tests. She didn't have anywhere to go, so she would probably spend her three days at the range or maybe looking for a place to live in central. She would be able to live on her own when the training was over, although she would still be going to academy to finish her minor in arson investigation.

"You all right?" Ramsey asked. She looked up at him and nodded.

"Nervous?" he asked.

"Not really," she replied. That was a lie but she wasn't going to admit it. She was shocked when she felt a hand on her cheek. She turned to Ramsey in shock. His hand moved to her neck and his lips moved to hers. Her eyes widened. He was kissing her and she was letting him. She was sure that Roy was doing the same thing. She kissed him back and he pushed her back on the bed. Suddenly she realized that despite what Roy may be doing this wasn't right. It wasn't fair to Ramsey. She pushed him away and he went willingly.

"I…um…" he stuttered.

"I am sorry. I don't fell that way about you Ramsey."

"Why'd you kiss me back then?" he asked.

"It's just for a moment I wanted to do the same thing he was prob…" she cut herself off.

"So you are in love with someone?"

"I was engaged of sorts to someone. He broke it off with me soon after he left for a while."

"He's a fool," he replied. Riza looked at him in surprise. "I…hope this doesn't ruin our friendship."

Riza smiled. "No not at all!"

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"Well?" Gretchen asked.

"Well what?" Riza responded.

"She wants you to open it!" Anne said. The three girls were sitting in the bar that had become a frequent gathering place for the little group.

"Open what?" Ramsey asked, walking up to them, Patrick, Jason, and Daniel in tow. They sat down with the three girls.

"Riza got a letter from Central Command," Gretchen said.

"Open it!" the boys said.

"Riza, it's not everyday that a cadet gets a letter from central command," Ramsey said.

Riza nodded and opened the letter. She started to read and struggled to keep herself from outwardly reacting.

"I've got to go," she said, in her neutral no nonsense tone.

"What's the letter say?" Gretchen said.

"It's nothing . . . there's something I have to do," she said and left the bar. Ramsey got up and followed her. By the time he made it out of the bar, she was long gone. Riza went back to her dorm and packed her things up. She went to the post office on campus and sent most of her things that she wouldn't need with her to her grandfather in the East. She packed her necessities in her duffel bag and left her dorm for the place she'd be staying until the train left the next afternoon.

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"I wonder what that letter said," Gretchen said.

"Who knows? Riza is a wall, I can't read her when she puts on that poker face," Ramsey said.

"I lost 100 bucks because of that face," Jason mumbled.

They all went to their dorms.

"Gretchen! Riza's things are gone!" Anne exclaimed. She ran to Riza's area and sure enough, nothing was there. They rushed out of the room and down to Ramsey's room.

"What's going on?" he asked, when he sees they are at his door.

"Riza's gone!"

"What? What do you mean?"

"She's not in the dorm and all her things are gone," Gretchen said.

Ramsey had an idea where Riza went but he didn't want to say anything until he knew for sure. "She probably got leave and decided to go out of town. I wouldn't worry," he said. "It's normal for central to award cadets with week long leaves. This is especially true for cadets with Riza's scores in testing."

"Yea, you are probably right," Anne replied with a sigh.

"You two get some sleep," he said with a smile. The girls walked back to their dorm and Ramsey closed the door. He sighed.

"Stay safe Riza, if you are going where I think you are," he said.

The next day Ramsey and the others found out that Riza was sent to Ishbal.

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The train rattled and screeched. She was one of many soldiers in the crowed compartment all. She turned to look out the window at the passing scenery. She'd heard about the Ishbal war but never thought she'd be fighting in it. Sure enough, there she was on her way to the desert.

She'd never seen the desert except what she saw in books and maps. Hell, going to the academy in central was the first time she'd been out of the little town where she was born.

"I never expected to see a woman sent war. To send you they must be hard up," a soldier across from her said. She glared at him. Not even a year ago, that comment would have hurt her a little bit but not now. Sniper training had toughened more that just her body and skills. It hardened her emotions quite a bit. She looked away and didn't say anything.

"Aww. . . Is the little woman going to cry?" he replied. Laughter rang out in the compartment. She turned back to him.

"No, I was just wonder when they started letting brainless idiots become soldiers," she replied.

"And just who are you calling brainless?"

"I am staring at you aren't I?" Everyone laughed at her comment.

"You were only staring at me because I am so sexy," he replied.

"You would only be sexy to me if I was into bestiality," she said back. The entire car cackled out in laughter. He frowned and his friend beside him nudged him. "Come on Thane. You have to admit. That was funny!"

He glared at her. "What are you anyway? A nurse? A Secretary?" Riza felt eyes on her.

"Sniper," she said, simply. Everyone's eyes widened in shock. Sniper training was the second hardest training next to special operations, which was basically defunct now. The snipers took over the majority of the work for special ops.

"They must have made the training more lenient if you got in and finished."

"Actually, they didn't. I had to drop out," one man said.

"So did I," another guy said.

Thane just glared at them. "I didn't ask you," he said.

"Were you born an asshole or did they teach you that in basic training," she remarked.

"Who are you calling an asshole?"

"The same person I called a beast earlier," she snapped. "Listen, I would like to stay quiet on this trip and not have to hear the ramblings of a half witted idiot, so would you kindly . . ." She leaned toward him. "Shut up." He started to say something but the look in her eyes told him that she could and would kick his ass if provoked. She leaned back and stared out the window once again.

As the night wore on, the occupants of the car fell asleep. Riza needed to stretch her legs so she stood and walked out of the car. It was permissible for her to be out of there for ten minutes every hour so she was taking full advantage of it. She leaned against the railings and watched the scenery go by. She enjoyed the night air whipping by her. It was a very long train ride to Ishbal and she knew it would be hot and arid so she would savor the cool while she was able.

She went back into the coach where she tried to sleep. She overheard one man saying that he didn't want to go to Ishbal, that he didn't join the military to kill. She laughed inwardly. He should be expecting to kill she drifted off to sleep but soon found herself being shaken awake by an mp.

"I assume since you are the only woman here that you are Riza Hawkeye?" he said.

"Yes," she replied.

"The general would like to meet with you. He's in the next car," he said.

She nodded and straightened her uniform the best that she could under the circumstances. If the military expected the uniforms they were wearing to be immaculate like the ones officers wore or the academy ones, they were crazy. She went over to the other cart and walked in after knocking. She opened the door and a shot was fired at her. She dodged out of the way and drew her handgun.

That man that she'd heard talking about going to Ishbal had a gun against the General. She drew her gun on instinct and shot the man right between the eyes. The man fell back in as sitting position against the wall. The blood ran out from the wound and trailed down his pale skin, staining his skin a deeper red. To took all of her strength not to throw up at the sight. She holstered her gun and checked on the injured mp's.

It turned out the General wanted to meet with the sniper that was on the train to talk about the conditions of Ishbal and about how she was one of only eight snipers in Ishbal. He told her about her assigned vicinity and gave her more information on her objectives. They were standard sniper objectives; she didn't know why he wasted the time going over them. The entire time the general spoke, she struggled to push the man that she had killed to the back of her mind. No doubt, she would have to kill many more people than him.

She would have to steel her nerves to the fact. It wouldn't do for her to be shaking in horror when she was making a shot. When the conversation was over the General had offered her a place in his car in return for her saving him. She politely declined saying it didn't seem right for her to be there when her comrades were crowded in another car. He smiled, nodded then she left.

She went to sit back at her former spot. She was surprised that almost everyone in the car was still asleep. She leaned her head back against the set and closed her eyes. The man's face, all bloody came in visual form in her head and she snapped them back open. She sighed.

"You all right?" a familiar voice said. She straightened her head and saw that Thane was awake.

"Fine," she said.

"You killed your first man tonight," he stated. "I heard the MP's talking about the female sniper." She nodded.

"I haven't killed anyone before," he said, she noted a sense of nervousness in his voice. "I dread when I have to pull the trigger. I am thankful that it's a gun, so I don't have to actually feel the blood on my hands."

Riza looked down at her own hands. "You do," she said, simply. He looked at her in surprise and nothing else was said the entire train ride to Ishbal.

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To say that Ishbal was hot would have been an understatement. Hell was more like it and from the looks of the soldiers that had been there for a while it seemed to sum it up perfectly. She made her way to the main tent where she was to get her orders. She presented herself to the guard at the door and entered the tent.

Her orders were short and to the point. General Grand repeated what the General on the train had told her. He then smiled.

"It's nice to see some curves on the battlefield," he said. She saluted and turned around to leave. She heard a whistle and ignored it as she left. She could sum up General Grand in one word . . . Bastard.

She made her way to the sniper camp and set her tent up quite a distance away from the others. She wasn't in the mood to hear a bunch of sexist comments that she would no doubt receive and she could tell they would come just from the looks that they gave her.

As she was setting up her tent a person, she assumed a fellow sniper, came up to her. "You Cadet Hawkeye?" he said. She turned to him and then caught sight of his rank. She flew into a proper salute.

"At ease Lieutenant, formalities aren't needed here. The only time you really need bother is when General Grand is present." Riza relaxed a bit. "I read your record a bit and I must say I am impressed."

"Yes sir," she said.

"Now let's get this tent set up shall we?"

"Sir?"

"I am going to help you. We are all comrades here," he replied.

"Thank you sir," she said.

"The names Barton," he said. To Riza's surprise, a few of the other snipers in the camp came over, introduced themselves, and helped her with the tent.

"The first kill is the worst," a man with red hair said. "It gets easier to pull the trigger but it doesn't get easier on your conscience."

"I hate to say that you will know that all too soon Hawkeye," another man said.

"I already do," she replied.

They looked at her in surprise then Barton said, "I should have realized, you are the girl that saved General Phillips on the train," he said.

"Yes," she replied.

"You've already got quite a reputation here," Barton said.

"And that's exactly what I don't want," she muttered.

"Get a load of those guys, the amazing state alchemists," a blond haired man said. Riza pulled her hood over her head. It was getting quite cold. She ventured a glance and her heart dropped. Walking with a man with glasses was the man she still loved. . . Roy Mustang.

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	19. A Killer's Eyes

_**Best Kept Secret**_

_**Author: MoonStarDutchess**_

_**Chapter 19: A Killer's Eyes **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own my idea. **_

_**AN: Hope you enjoy the chapter. This is a very very long chapter. This was so much fun to write! I hope you have just as much fun reading as I did writing it.**_

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**A Killer's Eyes**

She stuck to what shadows there were in the vicinity where she was to begin her duties, only the necessary equipment with her. Looking around, she spotted a very tall pile of rubble. A place among it would be a perfect sniping point. The rubble wasn't a prominent feature among the terrain. She glanced at it for an alternate escape route if it became necessary and found one that would be easily accessible once she was up there.

She made her way to the pile and climbed fifteen feet up, sticking to the darkness caused by each overhanging piece of stone. She then jumped into the shadow that it created. She avoided the window area of the rubble altogether. That was screaming, hit me I am right here. Contrary to popular believe, a sniper rarely, if ever, shot from a window or roof top. Those places would immediately draw attention and return fire.

She was told in the brief that Ishbalans weren't very good shots and many of them didn't have guns. If that was the case then why not just capture them? Why kill? She assumed those were questioned that dwelled in the mind of soldiers often. Those were questions they would never be able to ask their superiors. It wasn't the job of a soldier to question their orders. They were to only carry them out to the best of their ability. This was especially true for a sniper. It wasn't as if her orders were hard to understand either. She was to shoot to kill any Ishbalian that came within her designated area.

She got into position and did what a sniper did best. . . She waited. She completed the normal scouting with her rifle and rested back it back in its original position. She watched and waited with baited breath for a target to come into site, ignoring the hope in her mind that she wouldn't see one. It was false hope, and impossibility in the war torn land in which she found herself. Sure enough, as she banished the thought a target came into site. She paused for a moment. It was an elderly man that couldn't do that much harm. He could barely move and there were two younger ones helping them. They didn't look like anything that could threaten the military. She lined the old man in her sight and pulled the trigger. The bullet pierced his head and he slacked in the grip of the two with him. They looked around frantically and Riza shot the other in the head. The one left started running she aimed and fired shooting him in the back of the head.

She couldn't move her gun from the spot for a moment. She'd just killed three people in a minute. The thoughts of those people's lives flooded her head. Did they have wives? Children? Did they really deserve to be shot down? Were they really that much of a threat? She shook the thoughts from her head. She returned her gun back to standard position.

At standard position, she could see the head of the old man. His blood was running out staining the sand. Riza would never forget that sight. She adjusted her rifle so he and the other bodies were out of view. As she did, another Ishbalian came into view. He was trying to sneak among the rubble.

Riza contemplated letting him go but knew if she didn't get him then another sniper would. She didn't want anyone to feel what she was feeling now. She knew that they would enviably but if she could make it one less person on the conscience. . . She fired, hit the man in the head and he tumbled to the ground. She heard a voice yell and saw an Ishbalan come out from atop the rubble of a broken tower. She aimed and shot causing him to tumble down the height of the tower. His body hit sharp rocks and glass on its decent, cutting and shredding through the man's skin. She repositioned her rifled and waited for the next target.

When Riza's duty for the day was over, she made her way back to camp sticking to the shadows. She spotted three Ishbalans heading toward a place where she knew a team was stationed. She positioned her rifle and quickly took the three out. She slung it back over her shoulders and proceeded to make her way back to camp. She deposited her kit in the tent but slung her rifle over her shoulder. She went to sit by the fire and a fellow sniper nodded his greeting. She nodded back and sat there began to stare into the flames.

She turned her head away from them quickly when his face came into view. He was here, nearby and she found herself not wanting to see him again. She prayed that he was all right and would survive this war but seeing him again would bring pain. She didn't need any more emotions running through her head. Edmund's voice brought her out of her musings.

"You all right?" he asked.

"Yes," she stated simply. Then she felt someone sit beside her. She looked over and saw Edmund handing her a flask.

"I wish it would work but alcohol doesn't really have much of an effect on me. It's like water."

"Trust me Hawkeye this will. It's homemade."

She took the flask and drunk from it. She quickly lowered it and coughed.

"Told ya," he said. She nodded and handed it back to him. He took a drink and coughed as well. She laughed. It was such a foreign thing for her even though it hadn't been a week since she last laughed with the group back at the academy.

"I figured you'd be used to that stuff," she said.

"One doesn't get used to this stuff. It has a natural immunity to people getting usetoness."

"Are you sure you aren't drunk. Usetoness isn't a word and that sentence didn't make much sense."

"You will realize after a while that I rarely ever make sense," he joked.

Riza had to admit, his humor was quite pleasant. She'd never had much of a sense of humor. The humor that she did have was rather dry. The only time she'd really honestly let loose was when she was with Ro. . . Mr. Mustang.

"How many?" Edmund asked. She turned to him, and knew to what he was referring.

"Twenty," she replied and he nodded.

"It's difficult but it gets scary how one becomes accustomed to it," he said. She only nodded. She didn't think nor want to get accustomed to it.

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She'd tried to sleep that night but her sleep came with dreams of the people she killed. Finally giving up she stood and slipped on her cloak she walked outside and felt and arm on her shoulder. She laid a hand on her sidearm and turned. It was Captain Barton.

"Here," he said handing her a bottle of some kind of pills. "They are stimulants. They will be hell on our sleep shifts once this war is over; but it's the only way to stay alert when we have to shoot. This is especially true with our crazy shifts.

She looked at him a bit oddly. "I assume you were having bad dreams. Having dreams of the people we kill is a normal occurrence that results in uneasy sleep. He raised her hand and laid the bottle of pills in her hand. "Take two when you first begin your shift. Then as soon as it's over go to your tent and take a half one of these," he said handing her another bottle. "As long as it's not overused they work like a charm. You don't have dreams on those sleeping pills you are basically knocked out for four hours."

She nodded and took the bottle. She wasn't one to take any type of drug but she was more than willing to try them. If it stopped the dreaming, it was more than worth the risk involved. She went back into her tent and took half of the sleeping pill. Sure enough, she didn't have any more dreams that night but was still sluggish when she woke for her shift. She went back to her designated area, took two of the stimulants and waited.

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She was in Ishbal for a while and she hadn't run into Mustang or heard anything about him. She never asked anyone about the state alchemists that were there. She knew a state alchemist had been ordered to kill a pair of doctors stationed near her posting.

She'd been ordered to kill them at first but then Basque Grand withdrew her order seeing as she was needed elsewhere. She was thankful for that. They weren't Ishbalan and they were aiding the enemy. She then realized exactly what she'd thought. . . They weren't Ishbalan. . . She sounded like a racist.

Through the months she'd been here, she realized that the Ishbalans weren't a threat. This was no war. This was a massacre. . . It was genocide and she was one of the many murderers that committed such acts. She loathed when she had to "mark down another kill." Al snipers keep small pads and pencils with them to mark a running tally of kills. She'd all ready used over half of the book. The military said the book was a way of measuring insurgents in an area. She'd never heard such bullshit.

She looked at the sun's position and saw that her shift was over. She packed up and left her post. She made her way to sit by the fire once again. She didn't feel like sleeping. As always, Edmund sat down beside her and handed her the flask. She'd gotten used to the burning of the substance and it was welcomed every evening. The pain gave her something else to focus on if only for a moment.

"Here they come. On schedule," another man at the fire said. He was referring to the state alchemists walking by. Riza didn't turn to look and slid down behind the rock she was leaning against. Little did she know she would see the man again very soon . . . and save his life.

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Roy Mustang made his way through the crowds of soldiers on the way back to camp. This was the most crowded area along the camps of the army. This is where all the soldiers, from alchemists to foot soldiers washed off and got their food. The snipers were the only ones except from being there. The small teams of them were separated from the others. Their jobs were to go unseen and so they chose to eat when everyone else was sleeping and wash the same. It wasn't a requirement, just the way things ended up.

He heard a familiar voice call his name and he looked in its direction. He was surprised to see his good friend from the academy, Maes Hughes.

He walked over to him and the place where he could get a bit cleaned up. "Hughes! So you are here too," Roy stated.

Maes patted him on the back. "Hey, it's been a while Ro…Oh, your Major Mustang now right?"

"It's a position equivalent to a major. I only have as much authority as a captain."

Roy took off his gloves and stuck them in the pocket of his cloak. He stuck his hands in the warm water that was set up for everyone and cupped it in his hands. He brought it up to his face and washed it.

"When did you become a captain?"

"Just now. Out here people both high and low keep dying," he said.

Roy laughed to himself at the way Hughes said the statement. He knew he didn't mean for it to sound so positive but that was the way it came out. Even the most horrible news sounded positive when Hughes did it. That brought a slight grin to Roy's lips.

"If you gain a little credit it. . ." Maes trailed off when Roy grabbed a towel and started drying is face. His eyes were hollow, as if he was getting a glimpse inside the shell of what the man once was. He seemed to have the same personality and certainly looked the same but Maes knew the man before his was different from the one he knew before the war started.

"What is it?" Roy asked when he caught Maes staring.

"You have a different look in your eyes," he stated.

"You do as well," Roy replied. He looked down in the water at his reflection. He wanted to destroy it. He wanted to destroy the monster that was glancing back at him in the water. "They're killer's eyes," he said. So many people here have them.

"Yea," he said.

They began walking back to camp going through territory where bodies were being piled on wagons. The bodies would be destroyed by fire or buried in mass graves.

Roy sat down on a pile of rubble. "It seems like it wasn't long ago your eyes were sparkling at the academy. We sure talked about the future of this country. We had such hopes."

"Yea, we talked about the beautiful future." Roy looked down at his dirty booths and wanted to curse. What kind of future would this war honestly bring the country? Could it be called a war when the opponents barely fought back?

Maes sat down and looked out into the distance at two soldiers loading rotting corpses on a wagon. They were masks to prevent the smell and gloves to keep from getting diseases. He turned back to Roy.

"What I am wondering is . . . Do they really plan on continuing this until every last Ishbalan is dead?"

"I've been thinking. If the goal is only to suppress the rebellion don't you think they are taking too many risks?" This place doesn't have many natural resources or any commercial value that could help the country. Is the only thing to gain "peace in the east?" Is it worth the waste when the west and south are in a more explosive stated? Is there a reason here to go this far? I keep asking myself this constantly."

Maes was about to reply when he heard a voice call his name. A young man brought him a packet of letters and left. Maes looked through them calmly until he came to the last one.

"OHHH!" Roy was stunned at his outburst and backed away.

"What in the hell has gotten into you? What is it?"

"It's a letter from my beautiful future!" He held up the letter to Roy's face. "Her name is Gracia!" he exclaimed happily.

"A woman?" Roy questioned and then realized how dumb it was.

"Of course it's a woman!" Maes exclaimed. A young woman with blond hair and hazel eyes appeared in Roy's head for a moment before he pushed back the vision.

"She's in Central! She's been waiting for my return all this time." Suddenly his face turned anguished. "AHHH! What if some other guy is making a pass at her? But I have no worries! Gracia wouldn't leave a great guy like me to have an affair. He turned to Roy. "But there's still no way the guys around would leave such a great, wonderful, beautiful woman like her alone!"

Roy gripped his fist tightly and gritted is teeth.

"Let me give you some advice Hughes. . ."

His face turned back to a neutral look. "Yes?"

"It's a common equation and you are fitting right into it," Roy said.

"Equation?"

"Yea, it's a common pattern in movies and novels. Guys who happily talk about their family or lovers on the battlefield tend to have the highest chance of dying. So stop with the happy, fluffy moments."

Maes shot him a glare. "What about you? Don't you have anyone to talk about?"

Roy looked away slightly. Visions of Riza came back to his head. He wanted more than anything to see her again. To pull her into his arms and kiss her. He wanted to push her against a soft mattress and make love to her until she pleaded for him to stop. He wanted to whisper that he loved her over and over again. Then he wanted to hold her and never let her go, but he learned that happiness like that wasn't meant for him.

"Helllloooooooooo, Earth to Roy. Don't you have anything light-hearted to talk about?" Roy was about to answer when they heard something crack behind him. An Ishbalian popped up and was going to stab downward they turned in shock. Maes grabbed his throwing knife and Roy realized that his gloves weren't on his hands. The Ishbalian rushed them but then a gun resounded and a bullet entered his head. Roy grabbed his gloves and yelled. "A gunshot!"

"It's all right Roy," Maes said calmly pocketing his knife. "Apparently we have a Hawk's eye on us."

The name brought back memories for Roy but he suppressed them once again. "Hawk?" he questioned.

"A nameless sniper. It's becoming quite a topic of conversation among the soldiers. She's saved countless soldiers. She's gone through all the sniper training but has yet to graduate from the academy. At any rate, she has a good arm so she was brought out here. Maes turned to Roy. "I am stationed at the alchemist camp now and it's about time we get going."

"Why at the alchemist camp?"

"I am the go between for the alchemists and main command now."

"I see," Roy said. They made their way away from where the sniper had saved them. "Remind me to thank her when or if I ever see her."

"Will do, she saved me as well."

-------------------

Riza withheld a sigh at saving Roy. She couldn't believe he was as careless as to leave his gloves off like that. What if she hadn't spotted the two of them? What if she hadn't been there at all? He would probably be injured or even dead. She had to admit it though. Seeing such a good view of him was a welcome sight. He was still as handsome as when she'd last seen him at her father's home, except he'd lost a lot of weight. She stood and made her way back to camp and as per custom, she sat down at the fire with Edmund.

She heard Edmund move and looked at him to see that he put his hood over his head. She turned to him in surprise.

"Why did you do that?"

"State Alchemists. I prefer them not to know what I look like."

"Why?"

"Because they give us snipers hell," he said. "We are always in the shadows they say. They may be killers but we are the worst because we don't give them a chance to fight back. I prefer them not to know what I look like," he said. She looked around to see that all the snipers were doing the same thing.

"You have a point," she said. She didn't need to deal with it either. "I think I'll follow suit." She pulled her hood over her as well.

She stared at the ground and soon footsteps came into her line of sight. "Cadet I need to speak with you," he said.

"Yes sir," she said standing up and following him. He led her to a man with glasses. She saluted and the man waved it off.

"I am Captain Maes Hughes with intelligence. I was talking to your Captain and I asked for his best sniper. The state alchemists are going into the main part of the city in three days. We need a sniper to go in and clear it out for the most part. Captain Barton suggested you would be good for the job so the task has been assigned to you. You will go in three hours with one of our alchemists and. . . ." she noticed his hesitant and cracking tone… neutralize the enemy in the area."

"Yes, sir," she said.

"You will be camping at the alchemists' camp until the mission. Go gather your things," Maes said. He hated giving such orders to someone but really, they weren't his orders. He was just relaying them.

Riza quickly packed up her tent and supplies. Edmund walked over to her and stuck a flask in her hand. "You will need this, if you are going over to there camp."

"How did you. . ."

"I just happen to overhear, while I just happened to move locations."

Riza chuckled a bit. "I can't take this," she said.

"Don't worry about it; I got a new supply in the mail yesterday. I've got two more flasks full."  
She smiled and stuck the bottle in her bag. She walked over to the Major and they made their way back to the alchemists' camp. She rolled her eyes at how talkative and humorous the Major Hughes was. He kept rambling on about his girlfriend back home. She supposed that he did this to keep his mind off his present situation so she didn't say anything.

"As you might have realized, I am not an alchemist. I am a go between with them and the higher-ups. I am the intelligence for the camp."

She could restrain from saying, "So I assume the alchemists are actually stupid then." He stopped and turned to look at her. She was walking behind him, instinctively staying away from the campfires that soldiers had lighting the way. He let out a hardy laugh and began walking again.

"By the way, thank you for saving our necks back there. My friend Roy and I let our guard down."

"It's my job and all due respect sir, letting your guard down was stupid," she said. Maes laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, we were really kicking ourselves after that."

Riza was stunned at the nonchalant way the man was acting it was as if he wasn't in danger here at all. She shook her head. She couldn't careless about the way he acted.

They made their way into camp and Riza's stomach dropped. Roy Mustang was leaning against a rock and staring into the flames with a haunted look on his face. She wondered if it mirrored her own. She pulled the hood over her face more and walked into the main tent.

---------------

Maes escorted her in then left the tent. He walked back out and took a seat beside Roy.

"So is it true about the sniper joining us Hughes?" a soldier asked him.

"Yea, I just took her to the main tent. She's a quite thing, but she's got quite a smart ass mouth if she has something to say."

"She?" another asked. "Is she the sniper that saved that General on the train?"

"Yea, I assume since she's the only female sniper in the group."

"She's the one that saved our. . ." he trailed off as she came out of the tent. With her hood still concealing her face she went a good distance away and found the shadiest spot she could. She started pitching her tent there.

"Damn, are they always that antisocial?" another soldier said.

"Think about it for a minute. They are used to being loners; they are used to sticking to the shadows. It's probably instinctive."

Riza overheard Hughes say that snipers were loners. That wasn't entirely true. It's true that snipers were alone a lot of the time and had to be used to solitude but people skills was a necessary skill as well. She'd never been much of a people person but she could work professionally with almost anyone. She adapted quickly to situations when other people on her team came into play. The loner stereotype was pretty much off base.

Riza stiffened when she saw Roy pick up a tenth pole. Without a word, he began helping her. After they finished he held out his hand and introduced himself.

"I am Roy Mustang," he said. She saluted, the hood still concealing her face. Roy lowered his hand. "Thank you for saving our lives back there." She nodded and wished he would go away. It was so hard to keep down the urge to hug and kiss him. "Well…um…I'll see you later," he said uncomfortably. He laughed inwardly. She didn't even say anything and she was intimidating. He walked back over to the group.

"Did she speak?" one guy joked and laughter rang out. She turned in their direction and they all instantly shut up.

"Better be careful," Maes said.

The guys nodded.

Three days later Riza set up in the lower area of the city. She watched as the alchemists burned, blew up, and crumbled the city to the ground, killing all in their wake. She cringed inwardly every time Mustang snapped, incinerating people. His look on his face was haunted and tormented. She wasn't able to focus on him for long. She had to keep shooting Ishbalians that they had missed. She didn't have time to keep her tally. She was constantly scouting and shooting, the smoke and dust made it difficult to do so. Even so, she hit every mark. She then went back to checking every alchemist. The foot soldiers that were part of the mission were useless really. It seemed they were there for extra protection for the alchemists.

She trailed her scope on Mustang and saw he turned to snap and there was a mother and child standing there. He froze in his spot. The mother lifted a gun and Riza had no choice she pulled the trigger and hit her mark. The bullet hit her in the side of the head. She trailed it on the child and saw Kimbley coming toward him.

She knew Kimbley's torturous alchemist and so she shot the child in the head before he got to it. At least her method of killing was more human than his was. All the alchemists and soldiers left but she kept her position. She had a few more hours of sniping to do before she was suppose to return.

As soon as she finished she made her way back. The things she did that day suddenly exploded in her memory and she threw her hood back and fell to her knees, she leaned over and threw up what little food she had in her stomach.

She heard small footsteps and positioned her rifle. A little Ishbalan girl stood before her, frozen in her spot. Riza lowered her gun and narrowed her eyes. "Get out of here!" she snapped. The little girl ran away quickly. Riza knew she probably wouldn't get very far but at least she didn't know for sure what happened to her. Unlike the people she killed. Riza took out her canteen and took a drink of water. She swooshed it around in her mouth before spitting it out. She stood screwed the lid back on, put it back in her pack and made her way back to camp.

---------------

"Did you see that? It was a work of beauty!" Kimbley exclaimed. Roy just narrowed his eyes at the man while the other soldiers paid him no attention. "And that sniper! WOW! She exploded that child's head! It was artistic almost."

Roy wanted to throw up. The sniper certainly was effective, monstrously so. She protected the alchemists there better than the many soldiers that were with them.

"She was absolutely ruthless!" Kimbley exclaimed.

"Speaking of her? Where is she?" Roy asked.

"Cleaning up," Maes said in hesitance. He despised that term. They all stood when the General Naron, the general in charge of the team that was present, left his tent.

"Is the sniper back yet?" he asked. Before they could answer, he looked up.

"Cadet, come here please," he said.

Riza looked up and nodded once she walked to him.

"You've hit your five hundredth kill mark today," he said.

She nodded; she despised the look that the general had on his face. Five hundred kills was nothing to be proud of. One kill was nothing a person should be proud of.

"Come with me," he said. They walked inside the tent.

"She's staying with us for the remainder of the war," Maes said suddenly. Everyone turned to stare at him. "We did such an excellent job on the city that they are making more teams consisting of foot soldiers, alchemists, and snipers. The method is nice, quick, and efficient. The way it should be and I am quoting commanding when I say that."

"They are right!" Kimbley stated.

-------------------

"Cadet, please remove your hood," the general stated. She moved her hood back.

"From now own you are to remain with our team until the war is over. You can keep your hood off. I am sure it gets hot under there." He laughed. "I find it odd how you snipers stay covered so much even when not sniping but that's not my specialty. He stood and walked over to her. He handed her a pair of pins. They were small round circles with guns engraved in them.

"Congratulations Cadet," he said.

"Thank you sir," she gritted out. What she really wanted to do was shoot all the higher ups that ordered them to commit these atrocities. She didn't think she'd have any qualms about doing so either.

"You are dismissed," he said. She nodded, saluted, and walked to the door. She started to put her hood back on when the general spoke. "You can't hide your face forever cadet."

"Yes sir," she said. She steeled her nerves. Roy was going to know who she was. She dreaded the look on his face when he did. She stepped out of the tent. . .

"Well well she's shows her face," Kimbley said. "She's pretty too." He laughed.

Roy looked up and his heart dropped. He was staring at the girl that had been on his mind constantly. He'd had sex with other women while on his leave from the field but the entire time he'd been picturing it was her. Pretending that the curves he traced with his hands were hers. The women didn't care so why should he have? He felt queasy when he it came to his mind that she was the one that protected all of them. The sniper with five hundred kills.

She nodded at them and turned to Kimbley. "Thank you sir," she said of the complement. She couldn't look at Roy and lucky for her she didn't have to. She heard her name being called. She looked to see Edmund and Captain Barton walking toward camp, probably on their way to mess. She saluted the men and turned to walk to them. Roy watched as she left with the two men.

"I am going to bed," he said. He got up and went to his tent. He lay down on the bed matt and stared up at the roof of the tent. Riza was here in this hellhole. Why was she here? What was she doing in the military to begin with? Everything that he thought would happen to Riza after he left didn't.

He figured she'd go live with that grandfather she'd talked about, find a man and marry by now. He wanted an explanation even though she wasn't required to give one of him. She would be eighteen by now, perfectly legal to make her own decisions. Hell, she was making her own decisions when she was fifteen. She basically lived on her own before he'd shown up to learn alchemy from her father.

"Dammit to hell!" he said. He turned over to lie on his stomach he tried to doze but failed. Then flipped on his side and tried to sleep which also resulted in failure. He then sat up and put his head in his hand. He gripped his hair tightly until he heard a tab on his tent door.

"It's me," Hughes said at the door. Roy slicked his hair back to the way it was and folded his arms.

"Come in Hughes," he said. Hughes pulled the flap up and went inside. He plopped down cross-legged in the floor.

"You all right?" he asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Roy asked.

"The other men missed it but I saw the look."

"I don't know what you are talking about. What look?"

"When that female sniper came out without her hood," he said. "You looked like you recognized her."

"It was nothing," Roy said.

"Stop lying," he said.

"All the men were looking at her," he stated. "Was I supposed to not look?"

"All the men were looking at her because they found her gorgeous. They had a pool going on what she was going to look like if we ever saw. None of them expected her to actually look . . . That womanly."

Jealously flared up in Roy and he could barely suppress it. "Does that include you?" he asked.

"Does what include me?"

"The thinking she's gorgeous part," he replied.

"It's not what you are thinking. I wouldn't ever cheat on my Gracia! However, I am going to notice a beautiful woman. Now enough of trying to switch up the subject. Do you know her?"

"I was only thinking of a way to get in her pants if you must know," Roy lied. Well, partly anyway. He did still want her but not just for a quick fuck.

"So does every man here besides me. Kimbley even expressed an interest in it."

"Kimbley! If he touches her I will rip him a . . ."

"I knew it! You do know her!" Maes exclaimed.

"Keep it down!" Roy snapped, and then he sighed. "She was just my teacher's daughter, just an old friend. It's just that I wasn't expecting to see her in the military much less here on the battlefield. It's a shock that someone that I remember as one thing is completely different."

"Well why didn't you say so?" he asked and stood up. "That makes sense as to the look. Well, I am going to go turn in now." he walked to the door.

"Hughes, did Kimbley really . . .?" He turned to Roy.

"Yea, he did. I am sure she has enough sense not to take Kimbley up on an offer like that." Maes chuckled. "I have a feeling if any of those men tried anything they would get shot with what they are thinking with." He grinned. "And I don't mean their brain," he said and left.

Roy sighed then chuckled. Maes was right but he couldn't help but wonder if he would now be lumped in with that group of men. . .

------------------

Roy slept restlessly for an hour then woke up. The longest he'd managed to sleep since he'd come there was four hours and that was when he was on leave to the nearby city. He got up and walked outside his tent. He pulled his cloak tighter and went for a walk, he made sure his gloves were on and he was on guard. He walked for a short while and turned to an old abandoned building. He'd seen someone duck behind a corner quickly. He did the same. He saw a small speak of blue rush inside the old building and he followed. He poised his hand ready to snap if the person chose to attack. He stayed covered by rocks so if the person had a gun he would be harder to shoot. He suddenly felt metal at the back of his head and a gun click but as soon as it did, it lowered.

"You need to be more careful Mr. Mustang. If I was an Ishbalan with a gun you would be dead," a familiar voice said. He heard another click.

"Only if the Ishbalan was trained in stealth like you snipers, Cadet Hawkeye." This earned a sarcastic chuckle come from her.

"I wasn't using any stealth skills sir," she replied.

He turned around and she was holstering her pistol. He just stared at her. The tips of her bangs were wet, probably from washing her face and her skin was pale despite her being in the desert, which probably had to do with her sticking in the shadows so much. He looked into her eyes. She was like everyone else in Ishbal. She had a killer's eyes, the visions of the people that she killed locked behind them for the rest of her life.

"Why?"

"Why what?'

"Why are you here?"

"I was sent her by the military," she stated. She did this in such a cold tone that it made alarmed Roy. She was giving him the run around and he knew it. It made him furious. Before he knew what was happening he had her pressed against a wall holding her wrists tightly against the wall. She could have gotten away but the look in his eyes pinned her there.

"Stop avoiding the question. You know what I mean. I know you aren't that stupid!" he snapped. "Then again if you are here I guess you are!"

"You are here too!" she growled. "Guess that means you are stupid as well doesn't it?"

"You are supposed to be staying with your grandfather or …or married by now…" he snapped back.

"So glad you had such expectations for my life for me," she said in severe sarcasm. "I would be married if you weren't such an idiot!"

Roy let her go and took a step back. "I. . . I wanted to come back for you. . . But the things that I did here… the things I did in other places. . . I couldn't face you after you trusted me with your father's research," he said softly.

"So you weren't ever going to face me again? You were taking a cowards way out. You were going to live in self-pity all alone? Didn't you trust me enough to know that I loved you and that I would have accepted you and forgiven you no matter what you did?" He turned to her.

"Loved? Past tense?" he questioned. She knew the way he worded things. He was asking if she still loved him. She stared into his eyes the same tortured look that she undoubtedly had in her own, reflected back at her.

"I could ask you the same question. You were the one that ended it between us."

"I told you the reason."

"Well all do respect Major Mustang it is a shitty one," she said. Roy looked at her in surprise over the tone of her voice.

"It wasn't to me," he said. He sat down and leaned against the wall. Riza did the same directly across from him.

"It seemed to be the only job I could do. I was good with guns so I thought why not following in grandfather's footsteps," she stated. She didn't tell him the real reason why she joined. It was to show him that she didn't need him when in reality she did and still does. "So I joined the academy, got in the sniper program and they chose me for this great honor," she said, her sarcasm returning for the last two words of her statement.

"I see," he replied. He looked over at her and she looked down at the ground.

"A fool," she stated after a while.

"Pardon?"

"I am a fool. I watched him as he became so focused in his research. It was as if something had taken over his body. I believed that my father's alchemy would bring joy to people. I believe alchemy would give this country's people hope. Instead of protecting its citizens, the military is killing them. What kind of future is this country going to have if this continues? Why is the alchemy that is supposed to be used for happiness being used as a tool of genocide? I ask all these questions at the beginning and though I still wonder I know I will never receive any type of answer. It's the ramblings of a fool I guess."

Roy concentrated on the woman that he loved. She was broken, like him; this war had taken its toll. Had broken their souls and made murderers of them. He wasn't going to sugarcoat it. He was a murdered and so was she. Anyone that killed here were murderers.

He stood and went over to sit beside her. He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. She stiffened a bit a first, then relaxed. It had been a while since she'd received any form of comfort of this kind. Roy coughed and she turned to look at him. He smiled. "Sand in my throat," he said.

"Oh," she replied. She reached in her pack and took out the flask Edmund gave her. She unscrewed the top and took a drink. The burn rather satisfying after she'd been in the sand all day. "Here try this; it will clean the sand out of your throat."

He took the flask and took a swig. He began coughing even more. He quickly handed the flask back to her. "Damn Riza, I wanted to get the sand out of my throat not burn it."

"The flame alchemist can't handle a little burn?" she teased. She found herself grinning at Roy as the coughing subsided. She stood and put the flask back in her pack. She stretched and could hear her bones pop.

Roy stood as well but he refrained from stretching. He was liable to pop something that shouldn't be popped. He'd been having cramps in his shoulders for a while due to an accident with some rubble caving in. The silence was awkward between the two.

"Silence is golden," Riza stated. Roy grinned.

"Or in our case awkward," he replied.

"It shouldn't be. I mean we are two friends right?"

"Is that all that we are?"

She turned to face him. "Any reason why we are anything more?" she stated.

"I guess I really screwed up didn't I? I guess its past tense right?" he questioned. He was referring to the previous question that she never gave a straight answer for.

"What do you expect? You broke it off so I assumed that you didn't want me anymore and there were few men at the academy," she said.

"So you are with someone. . ." he said, but she continued on when it was clear that he was barely listening

"That had an interest in me. . ."

"I figured that you would find someone. . ."

"But I didn't have an interest because I still love you. . ."

"That would lov. . ." Roy stopped his rambling when he realized what she said. "You still love me? But how can you still love me?"

Riza just smiled slightly. He walked up to her, cupped her face tightly in his hands and did what he'd been wanting to do since he left her. He brought his lips to hers in a searing kiss putting all his feelings for her in the action. Her hands came up to hold onto his sides and she kissed him back. He pulled away slightly to look at her. He pulled her into his arms and her own slid up to wrap around his neck. "You have no idea how much I've wanted to do that for so long," he whispered and kissed her again. She moved her hands to run through his hair. Soon the kiss turned feverish and he pushed her against the wall. He pulled away and moved to kiss her behind her ear in the spot he remembered that made her melt. Sure enough, that little whimper that had engraved itself in his memory from the nights they spent together, came from her. She ran a hand down his chest as one stayed in his dark locks. It trailed down to jacket loosing it then down to the buckle of his pants. He pulled away from her.

"Dammit, we can't . . . I don't have any. . ."

"Don't worry about it, trust me," she said. They made all women on the field take birth control. She raised an eyebrow. "Unless you have a disease that you aren't telling me about," she joked. He moved to unbuckle her pants and pull them down and off. They couldn't undress completely. It was too risky to be doing what they were doing. Undressing completely would be pushing their luck. He lifted her and she wrapped her arms around his waist. He slid into her and groaned. He'd remembered what she felt like surrounding him but now that it was reality, his memories didn't do it justice. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed them as he began his thrusts, she meeting each and every sinful one.

--------------------

Maes walked along the path looking for Roy. He came to a building and heard a voice similar sounding to Roy's. He walked inside and the when he saw him with Riza he ducked behind a pillar. He grinned a bit and left them alone. He sat down outside the building and made sure no one would investigate the building if they walked by and heard the sounds of Roy and Riza. He took out his pistol and sat it in his lap.

"Just an old friend my ass," he said with the carefree grin on his face that people knew him for.

* * *

_**AN: This was 20 pages in Microsoft works and 90kb. I have beaten my personal best for the longest chapter I've ever written for any fanfic. Thanks for all the support and I hope you enjoyed this chapter immensely. Next chapter will be how they got married and the war is over. Next chapter is also the last flashback chapter in probably the entire story. Please drop a review! **_


	20. Wartime Marriage

_**Best Kept Secret**_

_**Author: MoonStarDutchess**_

_**Chapter 20: Wartime Marriage **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own my idea. **_

_**THANK YOU OTP**_

* * *

**Wartime Marriage**

Riza and Roy continued their trysts every other night and in different spots so no one would discover their indiscretions. Not that anyone would really give a damn. It was going on among several couples, they were sure the higher ups knew but knew the higher-ups just ignored it unless said they caught couples personally.

Roy and Riza even walked in on one such couple. A sense of relief passed their faces when Roy waved them off and suggested they find a more secured location if they were going to continue. He also suggested that he didn't see them and they didn't see him, which they instantly agreed to. She smiled as the couple left. Roy led Riza over to a place he found back among the rubble of the building it was away from prying eyes or even accidental discovery. As he laid her down on his coat and kissed her, all seemed right in their world.

-------------------------------

**A month later. . . **

"Cadet Hawkeye." Riza was cleaning her gun sitting at her tent when Maes Hughes walked up to her.

"Yes sir?" she asked.

He sat down beside her. "It's Roy," he said. She looked at him slightly alarmed. She'd learned from Roy that Maes was one of the most trustworthy people in the world. She was very fond of him when he wasn't annoying her with photos and tales of Gracia, his girlfriend.

"What about him?" she asked.

"He's a nervous wreck. He . . . He tried to kill himself again Hawkeye," he said. Her eyes widened at the revelation.

"Again? What in the hell do you mean again?"

"He tried to kill himself once before," he said. "When he killed those Rockbell doctors."

Riza's heart dropped. Those were the names of the doctors that Grand had originally ordered her to kill. A state alchemist was assigned the task to kill them and that alchemist was Roy. She tried her best not to let tears fall.

"I think it might be a good idea for you to talk to him and . . ." Maes began but Riza grabbed her rifle and stood up. "Hawkeye?"

"I have to go sir," she said and quickly left for the mess section of camp where she knew the other snipers would be. She needed time alone and knew that they would give that to her.

"Hawkeye!" Maes yelled as he watched her leave.

**--------------------------------------**

Riza made her way to the mess camp and sat down at the fire beside Edmund. She had food in a bowl and ate absently, staring into the flames. He blinked at her.

"You all right?"

She didn't say anything to him and continued to stare. Her head and heart was in turmoil. If she'd killed them then Roy wouldn't have had to. She was so relieved when Grand told her someone else would be doing it. Damn, how could she? It was if she was responsible for Roy's mental state. She couldn't be around him any longer. If she did stay near him then he would surely find out, blame her, and hate her. To hear words of hate come from his mouth would do her in. She would just avoid him at all costs. It was a cowards way really but at the moment, she didn't see any other options. She was a sniper and had to keep her emotions to a minimum.

"Hawkeye," Edmund said. She looked at him and smiled slightly. "I am all right. Just thinking," she said.

He nodded and for the next few hours, they stayed silent.

**---------------------------------------**

**Three days later. . . **

Maes stared at Roy who was sitting on the floor of his tent. His head was resting in his hands and Maes knew his eyes were red from the lack of sleep courtesy of his nightmares.

Roy burnt up a building full of women and children. He heard their screams of terror as the flames got closer and closer. He knew they'd lost consciousness before the flames burned their bodies but, of course, it didn't help him relieve his guilt. He'd killed a bunch of innocent people that were no threat and he did it because of goddamned orders.

Maes looked at his best friend in turmoil. He did his fair share of killing but he was always being targeted. His friend and even Riza were killing people that weren't even attacking, all because of orders. Maes' thoughts drifted to Riza. When he told her that Roy tried to kill himself, she had a look of horror on her face. It was as if she'd lifted the gun and tried to kill him. She'd instantly got up and left him before he could say anything else to her. He hadn't seen her anymore for three days. It wasn't odd for anyone not to see her so the General didn't pay it any mind. By the looks of Roy, Riza was exactly what he needed.

It wasn't the sex that he needed, Maes never mentioned seeing them to Riza or Roy, what he needed was her companionship. Roy needed her quite presence beside him. Maes laughed at himself. He had to admit he was a bit jealous of her. No of the sexual relationship of course, Maes and Roy were as straight as they came, but of their understanding. He and Roy were close and understood one another but his relationship with Riza was above and beyond the realm of normal understanding. Roy and Riza knew each other for longer than he knew Roy and apparently had feelings way beyond friendship as well.

"You need Hawkeye," Maes stated. Roy looked up at him and narrowed his eyes. For a moment, Maes saw something other than the haunted look flash in his eyes. His hypothesis was correct for the most part.

"Shut up Maes," Roy replied even though he was telling the truth. He did need Riza more than anything in the world, but he couldn't let her see him like this. He couldn't let her see or kiss or fuck a monster.

"It's true," he said. "I don't know the full extent of your feelings but you seem almost happy when she's around you." Roy just put his head in his hands again. Maes stood. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

"I don't need an around the clock visual!" Roy snapped. Maes stalked over and grabbed him by the shirt collar. He stared into Roy's eyes.

"You may not care about your own life but I do and so does Riza. I will be damned if you kill yourself and leave that girl heartbroken! You have people that care about you Roy! Now straighten up!" He let go of Roy's collar and stalked over to the door. "Like I said, don't do anything stupid while I am gone," he said.

"Where are you going?" Roy asked.

"To get what you need," Maes said and left the tent.

Maes walked to her tent and knocked on the door. When she didn't answer, he ventured a peek inside. There wasn't anyone there. The sun was setting and he knew the snipers hadn't been ordered to do anything that day. The end of the war was fast approaching so a few foot soldiers were ordered to do remaining sweeps. It would still be a month before they got out of the hellhole and he was looking forward to it. He sighed and made a decision. He would go to the snipers camp to see if she was there. If she wasn't he would use his position to get where she was if anyone knew.

He took the guarded path toward the sniper camp and soon entered. He spotted Riza sitting with the Captain Barton and Edmund. He went through basic training with Edmund. He was a good guy. He walked over to them.

"Hawkeye, can I talk to you?"

"Why sir?"

"We have something to discuss," he said. She looked up into his eyes and nodded. She stood and followed him over to an abandoned fire. They sat down.

"You haven't been around camp recently. . ."

"I thought it would be better if I stayed away," she said lowly.

"Roy needs you," Maes said. "You are his friend."

"So are you," she stated.

"That's true but you've known him longer. Roy keeps himself in a shell that I've tried to crack but you've gotten through that. He needs you there."

"He'll manage. As long as you are around. Now if you excuse me I have rounds to perform around the camps tonight." She stood and walked over to Edmund who stood up and they left the camp.

"That does it," Hughes said. "There's something going on and it looks like I am going to have to pull out the big guns."

**--------------------**

"So you suggest that Flame Alchemist Major Roy Mustang and Sniper Cadet Riza Hawkeye for the mission to search and destroy any Ishbalans that may have escaped to the town?"

"Yes sir, Major Mustang is a very effective and Cadet Hawkeye's firearm skills are unmatched. After over 500 kills that is evident. She would be the perfect bodyguard sir," he stated.

"I am hesitant on sending a male and female on a mission together," the General stated. "I understand that but Mustang's reputation. . ."

"Sir, you have met Cadet Hawkeye, do you think that she would," Maes was interrupted by the General.

"All right, never mind. I trust your judgment in the matter Hughes," he said.

"Thank you sir. You won't be sorry sir," he said.

"Also, have them come to Central when they are done. We will be gone by then."

"Sir?"

'The war is over Hughes," he said.

-----------------------------------------------

Riza stood against the wall waiting on her partner for the mission to arrive. One last mission and she would be back at the academy finishing her schooling. She wondered if she would be treated any differently once she arrived back. Did anyone know where she'd been sent? Did anyone actually give a damn?

She looked up when she heard footsteps and was surprised to see Roy standing walking toward her. He looked horrible. How someone could change so much in five days was beyond her. He had bags under his eyes his mouth was a thin line, his skin was sickly looking, he had stubble on his chin, and he even seemed to have lost weight. She was alarmed at the sudden change. He stopped in front of her.

"Let's go," he said and then walked past her. Her heart shattered at seeing him in such a state. She dutifully followed him as they walked ten minutes to where the train would take them on the short fifteen-minute ride to the city. It was a city used to seeing the military there so there was no need for them to change out of their uniforms (as if they'd had anything to change into anyway) or to rid themselves of their firearms. The city didn't necessary like the military but they brought business there so they kept quiet.

She sat across from him on the train. They were the only occupants of the car. He sat slouched a bit with his arms folded. She stared out the window trying not to look at him. She was so concerned though.

"I missed you," he said suddenly. She lowered her head.

"I thought it better than I not be around so I've been staying at the snipers camp and volunteered to do watch around the camps."

"Oh," he said. The car got quite. "I . . . miss you," he said again, but this time miss was in present tense. He looked at her. "Did. . . Did I do something?" he asked.

She looked at him. "No, you didn't . . . I did," she replied.

"Riza?"

"Please, sir. I don't want to talk about it sir," she said.

"Don't call me that!" he snapped. She gave him a shocked look. "When we are alone, don't call me sir," he said gently this time.

"All right," she replied and they rode the rest of the way in silence. It was dark by the time they arrived in town. They arrived at the hotel where military personnel stayed when they came to the city. They got their room, booked by the higher ups, and went upstairs. They walked inside and Roy threw is pack at the end of the bed. He walked over to the window.

"You can take a shower if you'd like. I am going to call room service for dinner," he said.

She nodded and went into the bathroom with her pack.

He turned back around and looked at the small room with the full-sized iron bed. He heard the water begin running in the bathtub and ran his hand through his hair. He'd missed Riza like crazy in the past five days. He realized that she probably decided she hated him for what he did with her father's alchemy and wanted nothing to do with him. He didn't blame her if that was he decision. Perhaps it would be for the best.

He picked up the phone and ordered the special. Beef stew with mashed potatoes and biscuits. Then he sat down on a chair sitting in front of the window. He heard the bathroom door open and footsteps come into the room.

"The bath is yours now," he heard her say. He nodded and stood. He turned around and saw she was in a tight brown shirt and her military blue pants without the butt flap (as he dubbed it) attached. Her hair short was still dripping slightly, the water droplets soaking her shirt lightly. Roy nodded and grabbed his pack. He walked past her and into the bathroom. Before he closed the door he said, "I ordered dinner. It should be up here in a few minutes."

She nodded and he shut the door. She closed her eyes and sighed. She didn't know what to do. She knew they were there on their mission but she knew she would have to address what he tried to do. The more she thought about it on the days she was away from him the more she realized she needed to confront him on the issues over his attempted suicide. She shuttered when she said that. She took a comb out of her pack and began to comb he hair into its simple, practical style.

Room service soon delivered the food and as soon as she closed the door, Roy came out of the bathroom. He was wearing his military pants but no shirt. She blushed slightly and he explained.

"I left my clean shirt at camp so I had to wash my other one."

Riza nodded. "The foods here," she said. She moved the cart over to two chairs. He walked over and took a seat. She uncovered the food and giggled to herself. Beef stew, she should have known. They began eating. It wasn't great food but it was five star cuisine compared to the stuff they served in the mess at camp. She looked up to notice that Roy hardly touched his food.

"You should eat," she said.

"I'm not really in the mood to eat," he replied. She stared at him and she could tell it was making him uneasy.

"Roy, please just eat more. You look so tired and you've lost weight." He stared into her eyes and saw the worry evident there. She was an open book to him even though she did her best to hide her emotions. He didn't reply in words. He picked up the spoon and began eating until all his food was gone. He looked at her plate and realized her food was gone as well and she was now sitting back in the chair reading a small book.

"So, what do we do about that?" he asked.

"About what?" she replied.

"The bed."

She lowered her book to her lap. "What about it?"

"It's one bed," he said.

"Yes, I am well aware of that Roy. What is the problem?"

"Do you want to sleep in the same bed with me?" he asked. She was surprised at both the question and the tinge of surprise that littered his voice. She sat her book down and stood. She walked over to the bed and turned down the covers. He watched as she discarded her shirt and pants and folded them. She sat them on a nearby chair. He looked at her strangely and apparently, she noticed.

"I can't sleep in the only clean uniform I have right?" She said. She was unashamed at the fact that she was standing there in her panties and a bra. He nodded. She walked over to him and took his hand, pulling him out of the chair. Her hand let go of his. Then her hands trailed down and unbuckled his pants. He let them fall to his knees before he pulled them off and she folded them. She took his hand once again and led him over to the bed. She crawled on it and pulled him in. They both got under the covers and turned out the lights.

Roy didn't understand. If she hated him then she wouldn't have led him to the bed. Nor would she sleep in the same bed as him. She didn't hate him. That brought a bit of relief to his mind. He felt her body up against his and he wrapped his arms around her. It had been a while since he was able hold her in his arms. Their lovemaking on the battlefield left little to no time to just lay and talk. He looked at Riza lying against his chest and watched as she drifted off to sleep. He kissed her forehead and soon followed.

Roy's sleep wouldn't last though. He heard the voices of his victims haunting him. Saw flashbacks of the things that he did. The faces of his victims popped into his head as the flesh burned away leaving nothing but ashes and bone fragments that the flames couldn't decimate. He woke up with a jerk, sweat covered his forehead and he was breathing deeply. He was pleased that he didn't wake Riza. He figured she'd taken two of those sleeping pills after eating.

He gently moved her and walked to the window. He opened it and stood off to the side a bit. The curtains still covered them for the most part yet there was still a place where he could look out. He looked down at the road below. It was five stories up. That was more than enough height for him to. . .

"Don't even think about something like that," a voice said. He turned around and saw Riza sitting up in bed.

"I thought you were asleep," he said. She stood up from the bed, grabbed one of the two blankets to wrap around her, and walked over to him.

"I am a good actress," she replied. Roy grinned and nodded. "Maes told me Roy," she said. "He told me you tried to kill yourself not once but twice."

"Yea," he said, as if it was the most casual thing in the world.

She then did something she thought she'd never do. She slapped him across the face. He looked at her in absolute shock. "You idiot! Why would you even consider that?"

"Because . . . Dammit Riza! Look at the things I've done! The world would be better off!"

"Oh, and you think that you are the only one that did thing like you've done? I heard about the women and children Roy," she said, intentionally leaving out the doctors. She would confess when she thought he was doing a bit better than how he was now. "I killed several children Roy. More than I can count on one hand. I killed people and they were no threat whatsoever. They were just walking by and I was killing like a coward. They couldn't even look me in the eye. I was like a demon in the shadows waiting for a kill. What if I went over to my pack," she said, going over to it and taking out a gun. "And put a gun to my head," she put the gun to her head. "Took out a gun and put it to my head."

"RIZA!"

"And pulled the trigger." Roy rushed over to her as she pulled it. Nothing happened. He stopped in his tracks. His face was ghostly white. "WHAT THE HELL?"

"The gun has nothing in it Roy. The shooting mechanisms and parts are in my pack."

He grabbed her and pinned her to the bed. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND? DO YOU KNOW WHAT I WOULD HAVE DONE IF THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN LOADED?" he yelled.

"Scary isn't it?" she said calmly. He blinked. "That is the way I felt when Maes told me. I think that's the way Maes felt as well. You may think that no one cares but you have people that love you."

"You?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. He took the shell of the gun and threw it down on the floor. His lips moved to hers to kiss her. She pulled away. "I…I can't do this anymore. . ." she said. Roy looked confused.

"Riza? Oh, sorry!" she said, quickly getting off her.

"Not that," she said and looked down at the floor sadly. "It's my fault that you had to kill the Rockbell doctors," she said.  
Roy calmly sat beside her. "Why in the hell do you say that?"

"It was my assignment first but General Grand changed the orders at the last minute. He said an alchemist was going to be assigned the job," she replied.

Roy put an arm around her and pulled her close. "It's still not your fault at all." She pulled from his grasp and stood up. "Don't you get it! I was glad I didn't have to do it! I was selfishly glad!" Roy stood and hugged her.

"Don't cry," Roy said. "It's nothing to feel guilty over." Riza didn't realize she was crying. She pulled away further and wiped her tears but more came. "I am the reason you tried to kill yourself though. It's my fault." She wiped them again and he hugged her again.

"No it isn't. Is this why you stayed away from me?"

"I was afraid you'd figure it out and hate me," she said.

Roy chuckled. "I thought that you hated me because of all the things I did with your fathers flame alchemy."

"I don't hate you," she said.

"And of course I don't hate you," he said.

"From now on let's just be honest with each other all right?" he said.

"All right but promise me that you won't try and kill yourself again," she said.

"I promise," he replied.

**-----------------------------**

Roy and Riza covered most of the city the next day and there were no signs of Ishbalans anywhere. He traveled the alleys and streets while she sat perched on a dusty building watching his every move. They walked back in the hotel and Roy walked up to their floor. Riza stopped at the front desk to order dinner.

"I can't believe we are married now. Finding that man that married us was wonderful. We are married and we can remain in the military," a woman said. Roy recognized them as two soldiers. They stopped and stared in horror as they recognized him. Roy raised an eyebrow at the two as they snapped into a perfect salute.

"Married huh?" Roy said. He walked closer. "Where?" he asked.

They blinked. "We…we can't tell," the man said.

"I am not going to turn the man in," Roy said, knowing that was why they couldn't tell. They two still looked hesitant. Roy had to admit that he was impressed with the two. At the risk of their own careers, they were going to keep it quite.

"Tell you what, tell me where he is and forget that you saw or spoke to me here and I won't tell on you two or turn in the man for breaking the law."

"Really sir?" the woman questioned in shock.

"On my vow as an officer," he replied. They proceeded to give him instructions on where the man was located.

Apparently, he was once in the Amestris military and wanted to marry another soldier. The military obviously didn't allow it. The woman he loved was killed on the field. He decided that during this war, he'd left the country, that he would come here and marry soldiers that loved each other. The license wasn't valid in Amestris but it was the symbolism that made it so special. Roy rushed out after getting the instructions and met Riza halfway down the stairs. He took her hand and rushed her into an empty corridor.

"Roy! What are you. . .?"

"Do you love me?"

"What?" Riza was confused at how fast he was being.

"Do you love me?"

"Of course I do, what's this abo. . ."  
"Will you marry me?" he asked. Her eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean? You know it's illegal for two soldiers to marry," she stated.

"Will you marry me?" he repeated again. He stared into her eyes and she knew something was up.

"Of course I will but how do . . ." He interrupted her again when he pulled her out of the hallway. They canceled their dinner order and left the hotel.

"Follow me." He let go of her hand until they made it to an old alleyway. He took her hand again and explained the situation. She was surprised that Roy would go through that for symbolism. They came to the door in the alley and knocked three times. The door opened and they walked in.

The room was nice but plain. The floor was covered in a dull brown carpet and the walls were a dark blue color. The entire room was rather dark and the only lights were three oil lamps strategically placed. "You are the last two soldiers before I pack up. . ." the old man trailed off when he saw Roy's rank. He stood and walked over to them.

"I suppose you are here to turn me in correct?"

"No sir, I am not," Roy replied.

"Then why are you here?" he asked.

"To get married to this beautiful woman right here," Roy said and motioned to Riza. Riza blushed slightly. She was dirty from sniping all day and he wasn't too clean himself. The man walked over to the desk and took out a certificate and several forms. He left the year blank as he filled them out.

"Very well. You do realize that the license isn't submitted to the Amestris country records correct? It's valid if you two weren't in the military but if I were to submit it you two would be in trouble."

"We realize that," Roy replied.

"Very well, your names?"

"Roy Mustang," he said.

"Riza Hawkeye," she replied. She couldn't believe what was happening. She was honestly marrying Roy and while the license wasn't really valid in the eyes of the law unless submitted, it meant a lot that he would do this. He handed them forms to fill out and then stood before them.

"Join hands," he said. There were two other men standing along a wall watching them as they did as the old man said.

"Do you Roy Mustang take Riza Hawkeye as your wife? Will you love, honor, and obey her all the years of your life until death do you part?"

"I do and will more than anything," he said.

"Do you Riza Hawkeye take Roy Mustang as your husband? Will you love, honor, and cherish him all the years of your life until death do you part?"

"I do," she said.

The man was stunned for a moment. He'd seen in love couples come in but he'd never seen a couple look at each other the way these two did. I was as if they would give up their soul if those vows weren't kept.

"Then I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride Major Mustang," he said. Mustang leaned in and kissed Riza on the lips. The man handed them the papers.

"When those laws are abolished then you two can fill in the year and submit it. That is, if I am still around at that time."

They both nodded and thanked the man. Then they left.

"That's my favorite," the man said, when they were gone.

"Sir?"

"That was my favorite ceremony I've ever done," he said. "I could feel their vows instead of only hearing it. They will last the long hall. I know it."

Riza was still in awe as they entered their hotel room. She was a married woman. She never thought it would happen. She felt Roy pull her into his arms.

"We are married Riza," he said. His voice seemed to be in awe at that fact as well." She pulled away and nodded. They took off their jackets and he took the certificate out. He stared at it.

"You are Riza Mustang now," he said. She nodded.

"Now I just have to get you some rings," he said. She looked up at him.

"That's not necessary," she said. "Really, it's not!"

"Of course it is! You are my wife after all," he said.

"Wife," she stated. "And you are my husband."

"Yep," he replied. She smiled and hugged him roughly, knocking him back on the bed. She kissed him and we she pulled away he said, "Someone's eager."

"Shut up," she replied. He flipped her on her back, "Make me," he replied and before she could respond, he kissed her.

* * *

_**AN: OK, I know I said this was the last flashback but I forgot an important detail. So next chapter is the final flashback chapter. Just because the event in next chapter deserves its own chapter. I hope you enjoyed this and please review. **_


	21. Scars

_**Best Kept Secret**_

_**Author: MoonStarDutchess **_

_**Chapter 21: Scars **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own my idea. **_

_**AN: Thanks to the reviewers for all the support. **_

**_NOTE: To a reviewer. I would just like to ask that you please refrain from calling me an asshole. That doesn't get the chapters out any faster,. _**

_**Surprisingly enough, I do have a life away from fanfic,net (finally) Just like all the readers and writers on this site do. **_

_** I am a psychology major in college and I might have a new job very soon . Not to mention that I have four other stories to write and my novel to work on and also my boyfriend is back for the week (he's in the military.) **_

_**This story will only be updated once or twice a month depending on how much time I have.**_

_**Thank you for the reviews and I Luvs you all. Please enjoy this chapter. **_

* * *

**Scars**

Riza awoke to the feeling of kisses trailing down the length of her neck. She groaned as they went lower to her collarbone and she felt hands slide down her legs. She reached down and stopped their ascent. She knew where Roy was going and as much as she would love to continue their activities from the previous night, she and her husband had work to do.

Riza's eyes shot open at what she thought. She was married to Roy. She was Mrs. Roy Mustang! They'd have to keep it a secret of course, but still. Knowing that she belonged to this man and that he belonged to her cleared up her emptiness that she'd had in her heart since he left.

"You all right?" he asked. He'd noticed that she'd been staring off into space for quite a while. Riza shook her head to rid herself of her thoughts and turned to him. She nodded. He kissed her softly on the lips and pulled away for a second. Then he kissed her yet again, this time the kiss lingered a bit longer than the previous one. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he pushed her gently down on her back. When they pulled away, both were breathless.

"We should get up," she stated. He nuzzled her neck.

"Aww. . .do we have to?" he asked.

"We have to search the city one more time. You know that," she replied.

"Then we have to leave tomorrow," Roy said with a frown. Riza frowned as well and nodded. She had to go back to the academy and he would be stationed somewhere, probably far away from her. She suddenly shook those thoughts from her head. She had to stay focused until they were finished looking around the city.

"Get off Roy," she said, with a slight laugh evident in her voice.

"That's what I am trying to do," he replied. Riza's eyes widened then she laughed aloud.

"I didn't mean it like that!"

He pulled away from her neck and smirked. "Like what?"

She blushed and pushed him off her, earning a laugh from him as he hit the bed. She got up, grabbed her clothing and went in the bathroom to shower. Roy continued to laugh until his own shock stopped him mid-laugh. He was shocked because he was laughing.

He sat up on his back and smiled slightly. She was the only one in the world that could make him genuinely laugh or smile. He was truly happy to have her as his wife. He thought it was much more than he deserved. How could someone like him truly make her happy? He stared down at his hands and frowned. Apparently he'd drifted into his own little would because he didn't hear Riza come out of the bathroom.

"Sir," he heard her say. He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her. She had a concerned look on her face so he forced a smile on his to rid her of the look. "You can have the bathroom now," she said.

"Thanks Riza," he replied and stood up. He grabbed his own clothing and went to shower. Riza took out her guns and sat in the chair beside the window to wait on Roy. She'd seen the look that he was wearing when she came out. His mind was dwelling on what he did just as hers was except she did a better job of pushing it to the back of her mind and sealing it off. She shook her head to rid herself of the line of thinking that her mind was leading her to.

Soon, Roy emerged from the bathroom drying his hair with a towel. He then threw the towel back into the bathroom. She smiled at seeing his hair all wet and messed up. She stood, grabbed a comb from her kit and walked over to him. He looked at her confusingly and she directed him to sit on the bed. She stood in front of him and began to comb his hair.

"I can comb my own hair ya know," he said to her. His face was even with her stomach as she combed.

"I know," she replied but said nothing else and continued to comb his hair. He grinned and he rested his right hand rest on her hips. His left hand reached up and pulled out her shirt that was tucked into her pants. "What are you doing?"

"Are you still ticklish on your stomach?" he questioned. Riza laughed. "I don't know," she answered.

She combed the front of his hair down and then jumped as she felt him lift her shirt and run his lips around her belly button. He then kissed her stomach. She laughed and he pulled away slightly.

"Yep, you are still ticklish," he laughed and kissed her stomach again. This time she could feel his tongue on her stomach. She tried to move away from him but his hands on her hips stopped her from doing so. He continued to kiss her stomach causing her to laugh periodically when he hit a certain spot. She laid the comb on the table near her.

She thought of how strange it was to be acting like this. It was strange for her to finally have someone to be herself with and not go by stiff military conduct all of the time.

Roy thought it strange to act like this as well. They were both murders and here they were, so shortly after the wars end, laughing. Of course, what they did rested in their minds but the laughter brought a welcome, temporary reprieve.

He suddenly felt her move away. He looked up at her.

"We have work to do," she stated, tucking her shirt back in her pants. He frowned and nodded.

"Can I kiss other places when we get back?" he asked.

"You are such a pervert," she said.

"Pretty much," he admitted. She grabbed her guns and put them in their holsters then grabbed her rifle. "Let's go . . . Sir." She said and walked out of the room.

"You never did give me an answer," he stated as he stood from his perch on the bed and slipped on his gloves.

Riza scoured the city with Roy this time instead of staying on the roof sniping. They searched the remaining alleys that they hadn't searched yet then did a quick sweep near the warehouses near the docks. Soon, dusk started to set it. They were walking through one last alley when they heard a gun cock. Riza spun around and they were faced with two Ishbalans with guns.

"Put your gun down and turn around," one told Hawkeye. She threw down her guns but Roy snapped sending a way of fire in front of them. Riza moved out of the way, flipped on the ground, and grabbed her gun as one of the Ishbalans dodged the flames and was going to fire at Roy. She shot her pistol, shooting the man in the heart. Roy snapped burning both Ishbalans into ashes.

The smell of the burning flesh made Riza a bit queasy. It wasn't as if she didn't know the smell at all. She had to pass the places where Roy had to burn someone but it was usually after time had passed and the smell had dissipated somewhat. This smell was very potent.

Roy lowered his hand that was poised to snap. "I think that's enough," he said. Riza could tell that he was doing his best to steel his voice. She looked into his face and saw that he was just as broken and torn inside as she was. She really didn't have to look at him to know that but just seeing him confirmed it even more. "Let's go," he said and turned to walk out of the alley. Riza watched him leave the alley and looked back at the bodies that were now ash. She frowned and turned to follow Roy.

They got back to the hotel room and Roy threw his gloves on the table. "You can have the shower first," he said, knowing she'd want to take a shower.

"Thank you sir," she said and walked into the bathroom. She showered and changed into the new buttoned up shirt and shorts that she'd bought at the market on the way back to the hotel. Both she and Roy stopped by a shop to buy a change of clothing that they were in desperate need of. She'd bought these especially for something she was going to ask Roy to do.

She emerged from the bathroom and went over to sit on the bed beside him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. He reached up and cupped her hand. He lifted it to his lips and kissed it once before standing and going to take a shower himself. He soon emerged from the bathroom in his boxers and spotted Riza looking out the window. She turned and his eyes widened at the look she was giving him. She was looking at him with a sad yet determined look gracing her features, the soft glow of the lamp highlighting them making them look even more serious.

"I need you to do something for me," she stated. "Will you?"

Roy walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. Her head rested on his shoulder and he stroked her short blond hair.

"You know I would do anything for you Riza," he said. "What is it?"

"I want you to burn and crush by back," she stated. He pulled away and looked at her in shock. He had both hands gripping her upper arms and started to speak but she spoke before him. "I need to be Riza Hawkeye the individual, with this I feel like I am nothing but a tool, I feel like one of those damn transmutation circles." Roy's gaze never left hers. "Besides, if someone sees it, it might give birth to another flame alchemist. I don't want that to happen." Roy nodded and let go of her arms.

Riza realized how it sounded. She didn't want him to think that she regretted giving him the secrets. She didn't want him to think that she blamed him for everything. She didn't regret giving him the secrets. He deserved them, she believed in his goal, and knew his heart was in the right place. He couldn't help it if he was ordered to do the things he did. She was ordered to do the same thing he was . . . And she did. While it didn't absolve them from their sins, they both knew that they really didn't want to kill those people. If they hadn't then they would have been killed.

She took a step forward and kissed him softly. When she pulled away she whispered, "Will you?"

He could only nod. She smiled and kissed him once more. He pulled away and said, "We will have to make up an excuse to stay a few extra days and an excuse for your injury. I can take care of it but you won't be able to move very much until it heals a bit."

She nodded, "You are right," she said and walked over to the bed. She sat down and the room got quite. "I've got it covered," Roy said suddenly.

Riza nodded, trusting him completely. She took off her shirt, not bothering to hold it in front of her for modesty. "What do you want me to do," she asked.

"Reconsider your decision," Roy offered. She smiled a bit and shook her head. "It was worth a try," he said.

Riza chuckled. "Yes, I suppose it was."

"It might be better if we did this near the fireplace," Roy said. Riza nodded and walked over to the mantel. He grabbed a clean towel from the bathroom and then walked over to get his gloves that he'd thrown on the table. He slipped them on and walked over to her.

"Here," he said, handing her the towel. She stared at him and took it. "It's to bite on. When I burn this it's going to go deep but . . . It won't hit the nerves so you are going to be in a lot of pain."

"I figured that's what it was for Roy. A medical gave me a bullet once to bite on in Ishbal when I was shot." Roy looked at her in surprise. "You were shot? When?"

"It was before I went to your camp Roy. It was just a small leg wound. It didn't even leave a noticeable scar after it healed."

"I wish you would have told me you were shot," he muttered.

"Why? What good would it have done?" she asked. Roy frowned. She had a good point; it wouldn't have made much of a difference. "Now, let's get this over with," she stated, then rolled up the small town and bit on it, to silence her scream and relieve some of the pain that would no doubt come (she didn't think it would do much good though.)

Roy found a critical part on the array. "This place," he said, touching a part of the array near her left shoulder, "would be the best place to burn it and it would cause less pain as well."

Riza only nodded. Roy raised his hand to her shoulder. It shook a bit and he lowered it. She removed her mouth from the towel. "Roy, just do it!" she said. He could hear her pleading tone. She bit on the towel once more and braced one hand on the mantel of the fireplace while the other held the towel. Roy he raised his hand again.

Then he snapped. The fire when to her shoulder burning her skin, she bit down hard on the bullet as flames licked at the secrets to flame alchemy. It was rather ironic that the secrets to flame alchemy was destroyed by the very thing it would create.

She finally screamed loudly into the towel. It seemed to muffle them well. He heard something fall and looked down to see the towel resting in the floor then he watched Riza drop to her knees, tears streaming down her red face.

"Did you get it," she managed to ask. Roy looked at the scar on her back, it would be the thing that scarred him most about this time in his life. He may have killed all those people in Ishbal but despite this being her request, he was torn up about injuring her.

"Yes, Riza. I got it," he answered.

He grabbed her arm and lifted her to her feet. He gently scooped up off her feet, being sure to pick her up via the other side so that her shoulder won't brush his. He sat her in front of the bed and told her to lay on her stomach. She did so and he went to retrieve his med kit and proceeded to tend to the burn. Afterward, he told her to get some rest and he would make a call to headquarters. He handed her some pills and a glass of water to take. She did and fell asleep the pill easing her pain.

Roy made the call and went over to lay back on the couch. He heard Riza groan and cringed. He hated hearing that sound come from her lips. He grabbed a pillow and laid down on the couch. He didn't want to risk hitting her shoulder if he slept in the same bed with her.

He sat up when he heard her say his name.

"Yea Riza?"

"Why are you laying over there?" she asked.

"I didn't want to inadvertently hit your burn if I. . ."

"Roy, get over here," she said.

He knew that tone from the time he stayed with her at her home. He knew better than to argue. She always won. He went over and laid down beside her and she turned her head to face him. He reached up to her face and stroked it.

"You all right?" he asked.

"Yes, I will be fine. How did the call to HQ go? What did you tell them?"

"That you were injured while we were fighting and that I needed to make sure all enemies were neutralized. They asked me how long until you'd be able to recover. I told them a week."

"I see," she said. They both stared at each other. Roy reached to the small of her back and began rubbing it and the side of her back where the burn wasn't present.

"I was thinking."

"Uh oh," she joked. He laughed.

"Funny," he said in a chuckle.

"I couldn't resist. Please continue."

"All right," he replied. "I am heading to the top. Someday I am going to be fuehrer and there will never be another war like Ishbal. I've received my own command in Central. When you graduate from the academy will you serve under me and follow me to the top then when I become Fuehrer be my first lady?"

"Do you really need an answer to that? Of course it's yes," she said. A wife's place is supporting her husband after all."

"There's something else. If I stray from the path. I want you to shoot me. Can you do that?"

Riza nodded but only because she knew he wouldn't stray from the path. He was too determined to do such a think. "I will," she said.

-----------------------------------

A week later they returned to central. She returned to the final classes at the academy and he got his postings at HQ. A year later she graduated and had several commanders vying for the her. She was given a choice of where she wanted to serve. She chose not to go in the direction of the sniping route but for a job as a chief aid and body guard. She soon found herself Riza saluting her new commanding officer, Lt. Colonel Roy Mustang."

"You know your duty Second Lieutenant Hawkeye?" he asked.

"Yes sir," she replied.

"Then welcome to Central Headquarters," he said. He stood up and looked at his office door to make sure it was closed.

"You found the apartment beside mine I take it?" he asked.

"Yes sir," she said. He pulled her into his arms.

"I missed you," he stated. Despite being in central the academy was too far away from Central Headquarters for a daily commute. In addition, they both had been busy. They managed to see each other six months ago but it was only a hello and a quick kiss.

"Me too Roy," she replied and he swooped down on her lips.

Quite a while later they heard about an Edward Elric and went to Risembool . . .

* * *

_**AN: Hello all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please drop a review. As you can see it's come full circle back to the beginning of this story. Now it's present tense from the next chapter until the end. **_

_**I would just like to ask you all to please check out and review my other stories if you haven't already. Especially The Key and Broken Wing. Thanks and much loves. **_


	22. Trains and Crushes

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess **

**Chapter 22: Trains and Crushes  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own my idea. **

**AN: Thanks to the reviewers for all the support. This story is now the present time and there's a lemon at the very beginning so you have been warned. If you want to skip it then go to the lines like this ------------- I didn't really want to put a lemon in again for a while but I couldn't resist when this lemon bunny hit. I think the lemon is rather tasteful. **

**AAN: Also remember that I am using a manga/anime/my own idea mix to make it a bit more interesting. I just wanted to remind you because I did things like switch cities and event times.**

* * *

**Trains and Crushes  
**

**Location: Mustang's Apartment in East City. . . **

Riza cringed when she felt sunlight hit her face. She groaned softly and slowly opened her eyes. Why did morning always come when she was the most comfortable? She smiled when she realized that she sounded a lot like Roy. Speaking of Roy, he should be waking up to. She turned in his embrace and faced his bare chest. Roy always insisted that he couldn't sleep in a shirt and wouldn't do it no matter how cold it got. He usually slept in boxers, on the nights they didn't have sex, and in the winter would sleep in cotton pajama pants. . . Unless they had sex . . . Riza laughed inwardly. It was always unless they had sex.

She admired the muscular chest that was before her, noting a few scars here and there. She ran her hands softly down it and under the covers to his, nearly there, six pack. With at little more working out it would show up better. She didn't care whether it showed or not though. She thought he was sexy anyway, even though Roy was surprisingly in denial about that despite the arrogant air that he put forth.

Riza moved her hand back up his chest eliciting a moan from Roy. She grinned and moved her lips to his chest kissing it.

"Wake up Roy," she said. "Time to get ready for work." She didn't expect this to work of course but maybe someday hell would freeze over and she wouldn't have to resort to disappointing him to awaken him. It was quite embarrassing for her to wake him that way considering she thought her sensual tone was pathetic. She flipped him over on his back and straddled his waist, her black silk nightgown rising on her thighs. She placed her hands on her hips when the movement still didn't wake her husband.

"Roy, wake up," she said again. He made no movement to indicate that he was awake. Now it was time to resort to the disappointment method. She blushed as she leaned over him and whispered in his ear in her "sensual tone", "Roy wake up. I am horny and I want to have sex," she said. Sure enough, he woke up and she found herself on her back.

"Never fails," she said with a grin. He frowned at her knowing that she'd used the "I want sex" method to get him awake. He wasn't going to let her get away with it this time. "Now get up we have to get ready."

"No," he said. "You are supposed to follow through on your promises," he said and held her wrists beside her head, against her pillow. He moved his lips to her neck, nipping at it making her jump. She could tell by his lower body pressed to his that he fully intended of going through with sex before they got up from that bed. She resigned herself to that fact, which wasn't entirely bad after all.

She grinned and said, "I never promised anything." He pulled away and smirked.

"So you were lying about being horny then?"

He moved down to kiss her chest and then took her nipple in his mouth through the silk of her nightgown. She arched her back and groaned as she felt the wetness of his tongue on her nipple and the wet silk created quite an unusual but very welcome sensation in her body. She felt his left hand slide up her nightgown and touch her womanhood. She bit her lips as he ran his fingers outside her not dipping into her awaiting body. She knew that if she'd open her eyes she'd see him with that lustful glare in his eyes.

She felt his lips move away from her breast and meet hers. She returned the kiss as his fingers made their way inside her teasing her body, her breath speeding up, and her moans breaking up the silence of the room. He teased her until the point of organism then removed his hands causing a frustrated groan to escape from her lips that were red from both her desire and the fact that she was biting them.

He kissed his way up her body, then her lips. Her arms folded around his neck as she kissed him back, the fact they needed to get ready for work long forgotten. As she relaxed from the tension he caused in her body, he pulled away from her lips.

"Horny yet?" he asked.

She growled at him. After his magic that he worked with his hands how could she not be. She glanced at the clock and frowned. Even though she was, it would have to wait.

"We have to get up now. We have thirty minutes and I have to get into work before you do." Roy shook his head.

"Not this morning," he said. Before she could do anything, he lifted her nightgown to her hips and thrusts inside her. She screamed out in both surprise and pleasure at the feeling of him filling her.

"Roy, we don't have. . ." she was cut off as he hit into her at a particularly pleasurable angle. "Roy. . . Stop . . ." she groaned out, her breath speeding up as he started to move harder and faster in and out of her lithe body. Finally, she wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, her arms tighter around his neck and met every thrust that he gave her. He was now groaning aloud and saying her name.

He kissed her roughly and they both groaned as their bodies rubbed against each other. Her hands moved around him to grip his back and as she came, her nearly nonexistent nails clawed and she screamed his name. He kept thrusting into her body causing more pleasure to shoot through her despite her descending orgasm until he came. He collapsed on top of her, his head resting in the hollow of her neck and shoulder. As he came down from his high, she felt occasional kisses at the junction.

"That . . . Will . . . Teach . . . You. . ." Roy said, panting.

"Teach me what?" Riza asked breathlessly.

Roy waited a moment and recovered his breath a bit more. "That will teach you to not wake me up like that again," he said.

Riza laughed. If that was the punishment she got then maybe she would wake him an hour earlier each morning so she could get that punishment every day and not be late for work.

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Riza made it to the office right on time while Roy made it about five minutes later, late as usual. He smiled at her and took a seat at his desk just as she was leaving to get the day's paperwork. A slight blush graced her cheeks reminding her why she was almost late. She shook her head a bit and made her way to get the work. She arrived at what Roy dubbed, "hell's paperwork distribution center" and grabbed the paperwork. She spun around to meet face to face with someone she really despised. He went by the name of Vaughn Blankenship. He was a first lieutenant like herself and thought he was god's gift to womankind. Roy was arrogant but his arrogance wasn't to the point where he only cared about himself. In all reality, it was more that Roy just put forth an arrogant persona. However, this man though he was the center of the universe. She smirked inwardly; he wasn't even good looking really. He should at least have a reason to be so conceited.

"Why hello there Lieutenant Hawkeye," he said. Riza gritted her teeth. She had to conduct herself like a well-behaved officer.

"Good morning Lieutenant Blankenship," she replied. "Now excuse me. I have to get back to the office." She side stepped him and began her trek back. She groaned when she heard footsteps following her.

"What do you say I call you Riza and you call me Vaughn when we are alone?" he asked.

"No thank you and we won't be alone enough to be able to do such a thing," she answered.

"We will if you have lunch and dinner with me," he said. "Then maybe we can go back to my place and have some fun."

"No thanks. I am not interested at all," she replied and spotted Roy walking toward her. When he arrived, he glared at Vaughn who saluted and backed away before walking down the hall without a word. Riza narrowed her eyes at Roy.

"What?" he said and followed her back into the office, shutting the door behind him.

"What was that?" she questioned, a bit angry.

"What was what?"

"I could have handled that!" she snapped.

"Could have handled what?"

Riza glared at him. "Colonel Roy Mustang, you know what I am talking about. Stop playing dumb!" she snapped again.

"Oh! You mean Lieutenant Blackenedshit!"

"Yes…I mean…no. . . Sir, if you keep doing that we are going to be discovered."

Roy frowned at her, and then locked the door. He walked over and took her in his arms, nuzzling her neck. "I can't help it. It's just that I don't like it when men hit on you.

She pulled away and sighed. "You aren't going to start that again are you?"

"Start what?"

"The same thing you started when I went out with Edmund Carnell," she stated.

"No," he replied. He remembered that time well. He hadn't been so horny before in his life. Riza was very generous when it came to his sexual needs so that week she didn't even sleep in the same bed with him was torture.

She took half the paper she was carrying, sat it on his desk, and then carried the remaining over to her own desk. "Good," she replied. She sat down and began her paperwork.

The office was silent except for quite a few hours until the phone on Roy's desk rung.

"Colonel Roy Mustang here," he said. He smirked when the operator told him who was calling. "Yes, you can patch him through." The phone rung once again to let the outside call through. "Hello, Colonel Mustang here," Roy said.

"Yes, Um this is Edward Elric sir, I mean Mustang, I mean Colonel Sir." a young man's voice stuttered. Riza looked up when she hear Mustang chuckle a bit. She then stood up and walked over to begin filing some paperwork in the cabinet behind Roy.

"Easy there kid, you sound like you are on trial or something."

"Yes sir, um… We are going to be boarding the 9:30 train to Eastern HQ."

Roy frowned and picked up the train schedule. "Isn't there a 9:15 train," he asked.

"Yes, but it's leaving."

"Get on it," Roy said.

"But . . ."

"Get on it or go home," Roy snapped. He grinned when the phone hung up and he hung up his own phone.

"Let's test his luck," he said with a smirk, his hand still on the phone receiver.

"Isn't that train the one with General Hakuro on it?" she questioned.

"Yea," he chuckled, causing Riza to sigh. Roy was always up to something and she knew that he had a method to his madness.

A few moments later the phone rung again. Roy picked it up.

"Mustang," he said.

"HEY ROY!" a voice said happily over the phone. Riza smiled at hearing the man's voice from where she was standing.

"Hello Hughes,"

"We are heading your way!" he said.

"Where the hell are you Hughes?"

"I am part of the security attachment for General Hakuro's visit there in the East," Hughes replied.

"Great. . ." Roy said, trailing off. It was that he didn't want to see his best friend. It was more along the lines of the fact that he didn't want nagged to death by his best friend. He looked to Riza who just smiled softly at him and shrugged her shoulders.

"Ask him how Gracia is doing," she said.

"Hughes, how is Gracia?" Suddenly Mustang realized he opened a can of worms. Getting Maes to talk about Gracia was crazy because he just went on and on. Roy glared at Riza and she turned around to begin filing once more. Roy was a bit angry. She knew what would happen and asked that on purpose. Then again, he shouldn't have been stupid enough to fall for Riza's joke. He smiled slightly. No one would peg Riza as the type who liked to play jokes, especially at his expense.

"WOW ROY! GRACIA IS DOING GREAT!" Maes exclaimed. I swear Roy, every since she's gotten pregnant she's turned hotter than the love goddess." Riza overheard this and she grinded her teeth. Was sex the only thing that men thought about?

"Roy, it's like an angel came down and kissed her on the . . ." Before Hughes could finish Roy hung up the phone. It did little good because less that two minutes later the phone rung once again.

"Hey! The line cut us off. Now where was I? Oh Yeah! So what do I do if she has the baby tomorrow? I mean emotionally.

"Hughes, if you are having trouble containing yourself then why don't you take if up with your wife."

"I did Roy. I just talked to Gracia this morning," he replied.

"THEN STOP BOTHERING ME!" Roy said then snapped his fingers, causing a small spark. Havoc, who was walking into the room, stepped back, being cautious as always. Riza, who was tired of all of Hughes silly chatter, picked up the other phone, which resided on top of the filing cabinet. The baby tomorrow thing had hit on her last nerve.

"Sorry to interrupt you Major but let me give you a bit of feminine advice . . . BABIES AREN'T BORN AFTER JUST FIVE MONTHS!" she yelled into the phone and placed the receiver back in it's hold a little harder than needed. "Idiot," Roy heard her mutter. He recovered from his shock of Riza yelling to smirk. Riza rarely ever lost her temper like that.

"Roy, did she really think I was serious about the baby tomorrow thing? I was using that as an example."

"You know Riza," Roy said, simply.

"Yes, your woman is constantly serious. Can't you get her to lighten up a bit?"

"Hughes, she's not my. . ." Roy started but Hughes interrupted him.

"I am sure a nice big diamond engagement ring would lighten her up," he said.

"Hughes. . ." Roy said in a warning tone at first but then suddenly let it drop. "I have work Hughes. Take care," Roy said finally and hung up the phone. Roy sat back in his chair and rubbed his temples. Hughes was a great guy but was annoying as hell. Sometimes he wanted to go ahead and gloat that he was already married to Riza. He wanted to gloat over the fact that they had been married longer than Maes and Gracia had. He knew that wouldn't be a good idea though. If they were caught then Hughes had plausible deniability.

"You all right sir?" Riza asked. He looked over at her and nodded.

"Yea, I am fine," he said and picked up a pen. He looked at the paperwork with loathing but did it nonetheless. He had a feeling today he shouldn't procrastinate.

-----------------------

His feeling was right. When Riza went to get the second wave of paperwork, she was notified that the train heading there was hijacked. She immediately took the manifesto and made her way to get Roy and take him to the main communications office.

As they arrived to the communication office Roy asked, "Have we received any statements?"

"Just a manifesto, would you like me to read it," she asked.

"No, don't bother. I am sure it is full of wonderful words for the military right?"

"How did you ever guess that?"

"It's the work of the "Blue Squad" a group of eastern extremists. The leader of this hijack goes by the name of Bald. Their demands are to release the leader of the entire organization from prison."

"That's fairly predictable. I guess the general is just going to have to sacrifice himself," Mustang joked. He really despised Hakuro.

"Apparently his family is on board with him," Fuery said. Roy looked at him incredulously.

"Damn idiot," Roy muttered, and then he said aloud, "Surely he knew how unstable it is out here yet he comes here for a family vacation!"

"Vacation sir? But he has a detachment with him."

"General's always travel with security," Roy explained to the younger officer, who merely nodded.

"So are we going to give in to their demands?" Havoc asked.

"That's a stupid question Havoc. Of course we aren't. Hughes and that brat can handle them."

"Brat?" Breda said.

"Edward Elric," Roy explained.

----------------------

Sure enough, with the combined efforts of Edward, Hughes and Al, Bald was apprehended and the passengers made it safely to their destination.

"Good job Edward," Roy said. Ed turned around and frowned. He then turned red all over.

"YOU KNEW THAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!" he screamed.

"Brother! Behave!" Al said timidly.

"You should be thankful Ed. General Hakuro heard about your heroic deeds and convinced the Fuehrer to let you take the alchemy exam."

"WHAT? BUT ….YOU ALWAYS SAID THAT I COULD TAKE IT! THAT IS WHY WE CAME!"

"Get real Ed. Do you really think the military would have let you take the test at your age unless you did something to really really deserve it? I guess you are lucky that you took that earlier train huh?" He said with a smirk. Riza sighed to herself. She knew her husband had been up to something. Even she had to admit that his trick was deceitful. Did he have a plan if the train had been uneventful? Then again, he had an almost 100 percent guarantee that some violent thing was going to happen. There wasn't a train so far that hadn't been sabotaged or hijacked in someway in the past few months. That would most likely stop now that they had most of the Blue Squad in custody.

Suddenly a commotion from behind them made them turn. Bald had regained conscious and had cut his bindings with a hidden blade from his automail arm. Riza quickly took out her gun but Roy put a hand out in front of her and smirked.

"I'll handle it," he said.

"You seem to be the one in charge. If I must die then I will at least take you with me. He charged Roy who snapped. A stream of flames engulfed the man, causing him to fall to his knees.

"Those burns aren't nearly as bad as they feel. If you try to resist again, I will turn you to ash. . . Got it?" he asked.

"Damn it . . . Who the hell are you?"

"Colonel Mustang, Mustang, or hell you can call me the flame alchemist. What ever you call me remember the pain," he said.

Riza resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the corny line. Where in the hell did he get that one?

"We are leaving for Central in the morning for your test Ed. I've arranged some military barracks for your brother and yourself. Havoc will show you there," he said, motioning his head to the blond haired officer with a cigarette hanging from his lips. He and Riza began to walk off.

"Hey! Wait a minute! I am not. . ." Before Ed could finish his tirade, Al grabbed him by the waist. "Let me go Al. I am going to teach that match on legs a lesson!"

"If I do that brother then you are going to ruin your chance of taking the test," Al said.

"Um…" Havoc started, "The car is this way," he pointed to the way with his thumb.

"Right! Sorry," Al said and he followed Havoc, as he carried Ed to the vehicle.

---------------------

"Roy! Lieutenant!" a familiar voice said. Roy and Riza saw Maes walking toward them. Roy raised an eyebrow at Maes's choice of clothing. "Friends shouldn't let friends dress like that," Riza whispered, causing Roy to laugh and nod. Purple and pink weren't really excellent choices for menswear.

Maes arrived at them and Riza saluted.

"Awww. . . Come on Lieutenant, you don't have to do that. We all are old friends."

"Yes, sir. I need to get back to headquarters sir."

"But the office closes at four Hawkeye," Roy said.

"I have to get in my monthly shooting quota to keep my sniping certification sir," she clicked her heels together and saluted. "Goodnight sirs," she said and left the two men behind. Roy watched as she went. He suddenly got the dirty idea to try to screw her in one of those shooting stalls. He put that thought in the rolodex in his head and filed it under, places to have sex.

"Roy…Earth to Roy. . ." Roy cursed to himself at Maes catching him staring.

"Yea," he asked. Maes grinned at him and Roy dreaded the next words that would come. He was surprised when Maes didn't say a thing about marriage.

"What do you say we go get a drink?" he asked.

"Sounds good," Roy said.

They went to a bar that Roy frequently went to with Riza after work and ordered their drinks. They stayed quite until Maes said, "She doesn't like me that well, does she?"

"Who?" Roy questioned.

"Riza, who else?"

"What makes you say that?"

"The way she acts. When I am around she tends to find an excuse to leave. I was going to invite her to join us too."

"She likes you Maes. More than you know."

"Why?"

"Because of that time when I tried to commit human transmutation and you stopped me," he answered. "She thinks you are a good person as well Maes. She's just rather quite."

"I see," Maes said and took a drink to hide his smile. "I wonder what kind of drink she likes."

"She doesn't like to drink. She says it's like drinking water so she doesn't bother. She has a high tolerance to alcohol."

Maes smiled and nodded before taking a drink. Part one of getting Roy to confess to their relationship was going exactly as planned.

"Are you going to leave on the train tonight?"

"No, in the morning," Roy said.

"That's too bad. I am leaving. . ." He raised his wrist to look at his watch. "In two hours," he said. "You and Riza be sure to drop by the house and visit Gracia."

"Will do," Roy said.

---------------------------------

Roy and Riza met Ed at the bottom step of Eastern Headquarters the next morning.

"You ready Ed?"

"You bet," he said.

"Very well then, lets get to the station," Roy said and Riza followed behind him. They walked a bit ahead of Ed and Al.

"She's coming too?" Ed asked of Riza. Roy and Riza turned around.

"Of course Ed. She is my aide and bodyguard after all."

Ed snickered. "You have a female bodyguard?"

"Brother!" Al scolded.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye, if you please," Roy said. Riza took out her gun quickly and shot several times at his feet. Ed paled considerably.

"I suggest you watch what you say about women from now on. The military is full of women who can kick your ass and we don't need alchemy to do it," she snapped. If it was one thing she hated it was a sexist. She knew the young man didn't know better but she had to admit that it was fun to teach him a lesson. She turned and walked away. Roy put his hand up to his chin.

"Ummm….that was rougher than usual," he said with a smirk before he turned and walked. Ed and Al followed behind them.

Roy walked up beside Riza and whispered. "When you get like that you look hot."  
She refused to let her inner smile surface at the comment.

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As Ed and Al sat across from Roy and Riza, he tried his best not to blush and avoid looking at the Lieutenant. He felt a rather funny feeing in the pit of his stomach but brushed it off as excitement over the alchemy exam. As they road to Central he glanced occasionally at the lieutenant. She wasn't like any woman that he'd ever met. She was tough, independent and beautiful all in one. Sure his teacher was tough and pretty but she was his teacher and Winry was tough and pretty but she was far from a woman yet. The Lieutenant had a presence about her that he really liked.

Roy was laughing like mad at the young man. He could tell that in just a matter of minutes Ed had developed a bit of a crush. Riza stood and fixed her jacket. "I am going out to get some air," she said and walked out of the cabin."

Roy wanted to tease the young man about it but decided against it. Ed had worked hard to get to take the test and didn't need to get flustered.

"Why don't the two of you go to the dining cart and get some breakfast. I know you probably didn't get anything to eat this morning."

Ed raised an eyebrow at him but stood. "Let's go Al," he said and left the car with his brother. Roy stood and walked out the other door. He saw Riza leaning against the rail watching the scenery pass by. They were in the last car of the train so they had a lovely view.

Roy walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She stiffened up.

"Roy, what if those boys come out here," she asked.

"They went to the dining car at the front of the train," he said. She nodded and relaxed a bit. After all, it wasn't as if anyone could see him holding her there.

He moved his head to rest on her shoulder and kissed her cheek. She smiled softly and took a deep breath, smelling his distinct scent.

"Ed's got a little crush on you?" Roy said suddenly. She turned around in his arms and looked at him in shock.

"But I shot at him!" she said.

"Maybe he likes rough women," Roy laughed. Riza smiled at him and laughed as well. "That's cute," she said after a short pause.

"I thought so to but. . ."

"But what?"

"He can't have you. You're mine," Roy joked. She laughed and nodded.

"Childhood crushes are cute," she said.

"Who was your first crush?" he asked, causing her to blush. He knew full well the answer to that. She pulled away without answering him and went inside the car. Roy smiled widely, stuck his hand in his pocket and whistled as he made his way back into the car.

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**AN: Please drop a review my way.   
**


	23. The Fullmetal Alchemist

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess **

**Chapter 23: The Fullmetal Alchemist **

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own my idea and my oc's.**

**AN: Thanks for all the encouraging reviews. I really needed them because I was and still am in a bit of a writing rutt. **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter.   
**

* * *

**The Fullmetal Alchemist **

Riza and Roy walked into the dining cart where Ed and Al were eating, well, where Ed was eating. Roy made sure to sit beside Al so Riza would have to sit near Ed. He had to admit, it was fun to watch the little guy squirm in his seat as Riza sat beside him.

He found it funny when boys, got little crushes on Riza. It happened more than on one occasion. He knew that more than a few of the new recruits in the military had developed crushes on the blond. Then he knew of a few higher ups that would more than casually glance at her. He was fine with the boys and young men, but it ran straight through him when he saw men around her age or older looking at her lustfully. He wanted to strangle the bastards.

He smiled inwardly. They didn't have a chance with her though. He wished he could gloat then fact that she was his right in their faces. But sadly, he couldn't until he became fuehrer. Then he would buy Riza the biggest diamond ring just for gloating purposes, both his and hers. She once said to him that she hated the looks that those women he went out with gave her when they saw her. Not the informants mind you, but the other women he went out with for keeping up appearance purposes.

The dinning car's waiter walked over to them and asked for their order. They gave him their orders and he hurried away to get them. Roy ran ways to piss of Edward through his head, he really shouldn't tease the young man but he couldn't resist when the perfect method entered his head.

"So Ed, how did your little girlfriend feel when you told her you were leaving?"

Ed stopped eating. His spoon was up at his mouth and his mouth was open. He laid the spoon down.

"She's not my girlfriend," he growled out.

"Oh? Really? Too bad. . . If she were a bit older then I wouldn't mind taking her out," he replied, ignoring the glare he received from Riza. "So do you have a girlfriend or perhaps a crush?" Now it felt as if Riza was burning a hole through him with her gaze. Did the woman have heat vision or something?

Ed blushed, glanced quickly at Riza and then continued eating. Roy looked at her to see her looking at him sternly. She was about to ask to talk to him outside but the food came in time. He began eating immediately. She signed inwardly and began eating off her own plate.

He was a frustrating man and she knew he only asked those questions because he found it amusing to make Edward uncomfortable. Sometimes she felt Roy was so much older than he was. That was usually when the anniversary of Ishbal came along. Then there were times when he acted twelve and what she really wanted to do was spank him. She signed inwardly; he would probably enjoy that though and mention some other things that would make her blush. Then she would probably realize that the mentioned things would be rather fun.

A bit later, Edward and Alphonse excused themselves and Riza and Roy stood to let them pass by. Ed brushed Riza slightly and turned a beet red before leaving the dinner cart hurriedly.

Roy and Riza continued to eat and the two stayed quite of a few minutes, until Riza spoke. "Was that really necessary sir?" she asked.

"Whatever are you talking about?"

"You know what I am talking about," she scolded. "Teasing Edward."

"Come on, it was harmless fun," he said.

"What's fun to you isn't always fun to others," she scolded. Roy just grinned at her.

Riza sighed and started eating her chocolate mousse. She felt eyes on her and knew Roy was watching her eat. He mentioned that he loved to watch her eat. He said there was just something elegant with the way she did it. She reasoned that it was just one of his little quirks. She smirked to herself. Harmless fun huh? If he were allowed to harmless fun then she would have some harmless fun. After all, the closest people dining were over on the opposite side of the car and couldn't see her actions. She grinned inwardly.

She scooped up some mousse on her spoon and stuck it in her mouth. She started to sensually lick said spoon and then stuck it back in the bowl for more mousse.

Roy refrained from biting his lip. Those actions were reminding him of just how gifted she was with said mouth. He squeaked a bit when she ran her tongue along the spoon's edge.

She retrieved more mousse and lifted the spoon to look at it. "You ever wonder how many uses for mousse that there could really be? I am sure the whipped cream in it can be used for something else. Like maybe pranks or something." She looked up at Roy who looked like he was a mixture of being in shock and pain. It took all her will not to laugh at him. "Do you know of any alternative uses for whipped cream and mousse sir? Could you think of any? You know me; I prefer things with multi usage."

She then smirked at him and it was his turn to glare. Her talk and actions had made him hard and she'd known just what she was doing. He would make her pay later. Oh, yes, she would pay dearly for her actions.

"Damn you," he groaned.

She stood up. "It was just a little harmless fun colonel," she said, patting his shoulder and leaving the dining cart. Roy had to wait until he calmed down before standing or people would be able to see just what his wife did to him. The military pants were baggy but not that baggy.

A while later, Roy finally walked in the car where Ed, Al, and Riza were. Riza was sitting in the back corner of the car, while Ed and Al were sitting in booth across the car from her. He grinned as Ed looked up at him, blushed and looked back down. Ed knew that Roy knew about his crush on Riza.

Roy walked over to sit in the seat directly across from Riza and popped his feet up on the seat, to relax. She looked up from her book, shook her head in frustration over his actions, and went back to reading.

"Are you feeling better sir?" she finally asked.

He glared at her. "No thanks to you," he stated.

"Why? Was the Colonel sick?" Al asked innocently.

Riza got an ever so slight grin on her face; it was a grin that no one but him would notice. His stomach dropped. He knew a smart-ass comment from the sniper would follow.

"Why yes Al, dinner was a bit hard, on the Colonel," Riza said, emphasizing the work hard ever so slightly. Roy narrowed his eyes at her, vowing revenge once again. Next time he would get her worked up to where she would whimper, then he would ignore her. She would know how it feels. Teasing normally was one thing, but teasing sexually was an entire different ballpark.

He nodded his head and then leaned back against the window. They were having dinner with the Hughes and getting a hotel overnight in Central. That would be an excellent time to repay her for her "kindness".

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The train pulled in at Central Station a few hours later. Ed and Al made their way off the train first. Riza and Roy grabbed their small overnight bags.

"What are you going to do while I am at the exams?" he asked.

"I am going to drop by Hughes office to see Maria, and I told General Grumman that I would pick up some important papers for him here," she stated.

"I will meet you at the Hughes office then, all right?" he asked.

"Yes sir," she stated. She let him step off the train first, as per protocol, and then jumped down herself. It was a habit of hers not to bother with the steps. She really needed to break it but it just came natural for her to jump. She noticed a grin on Roy's face, he knew of the little habit. No doubt, she would be teased for it later when they were alone.

"Isn't there a car for us?" Ed asked.

"Why Edward? Afraid to walk in the big city?" Roy teased.

"No, I just figured you couldn't walk that far while carrying your huge ego with you," he replied. Riza chuckled a bit. Those two were so much alike that it was almost scary.

"Just be careful that people don't walk all over you Ed, seeing as they are so much taller than you."

Ed turned blood red and started to stay something but Al grabbed him and said, "Let's go brother; you don't need to get riled up before the exam." Ed shrugged away from Al, straightened his collar and coat.

"Fine, let's go Al," Ed said and stomped off Eastward.

"Edward," Riza said.

He stopped, looked at her, and then blinked in confusion. "Yeah?"

She pointed westward, "Headquarters is that way," she replied. Roy laughed aloud at the young man and Ed blushed deep red. He growled, grabbed Al by the feather in his helmet, and dragged him off. Riza glared at Roy for laughing at Ed and then walked away from him.

He continued to laugh and followed the little group.

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They soon arrived at the headquarters and Ed was quickly ushered in for a Psychological evaluation and then his written test. Both would take two hours to complete.

"You think it would be all right for me to look around?" Al asked.

"I don't see why not," Roy said with a grin.

"Great! I will be back soon!" he said with such enthusiasm. He'd never been anywhere other than Dublith and Risembool so of course he was excited. He was still a child after all.

"Be careful Al," Riza said. She knew that there was no reason to tell him not to get lost. She could tell he was much more level headed than his older brother. Probably smarter when things got right down to it.

"I will," he stated and walked off. Riza smiled slightly. If she ever had children, she hoped they would be like that boy. He was so sweet and yet knowledgeable of the world around him. She just hoped it wouldn't take events like theirs to show her children that.

"You are attached to them aren't you?" Roy said with a smirk.  
She looked at him, her calm demeanor not cracking in the slightest. She clicked her heels together and saluted.

"I will meet you here later sir!" she stated. "I will go check us in at the hotel. Then I have duties sir." She then turned and walked away. She didn't want Roy to know about her thoughts on children. Those were thoughts that she kept to herself. It would probably never happen for her.

By the time Roy became fuehrer she would be too old to have children. Anyone that had kids over the age of thirty was at an increased risk of death in childbirth. She prayed that one-day women could have kids at that age. It wasn't impossible but Roy wouldn't allow her to attempt it. He was already scared of losing her and she wouldn't do it against his will.

The military was keen on the women taking birth control. She would just continue to take it for as long as needed. She sighed as she walked to the hotel where they were staying. Every time she thought of children, all the what-if thoughts came to her mind. What if Roy hadn't joined the military? What if her father hadn't died the way he did? What if they'd married while he trained with her father? It wasn't out of the question after all. Sixteen wasn't an unreasonable age to marry in the present time. She figured that it would be someday but now it was that abnormal. Women had to have children rather early if they wanted many children.

She walked inside the hotel and checked both she and Roy into the rooms. The woman gave her Roy's key, knowing she was Roy's subordinate and that it would get to him safely. She asked about Roy and Riza just smiled and said he was doing well. The woman at the desk was a close acquaintance of hers and Roy's. Though she didn't know that they were married, she did know they had some sort of relationship. She was involved in being one of Roy's contacts. The contacts that her grandfather had set up. They all had quite a network going.

"Oh, could you please give this to the colonel," she stated, as another person walked up to the desk the woman put on the air of a crush type obsession for Roy. "I just think that he is wonderful. Maybe I will have a chance with Roy Mustang!" she exclaimed. It took all of Riza's will to keep from laughing.

"Yes, I suppose," she stated as the man watched her. He looked a bit frustrated.

"Thank you! Thank you so much," the woman exclaimed.

Riza chuckled to herself when she heard the man at the desk mutter something about what has he got that I don't. She walked out of the hotel and back to headquarters. She would drop in to see Maria for a moment then make her way to the office where she was to pick up the files that General Grumman wanted.

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Ed finished his psychological and written tests. He then made his way to the physical testing grounds. Roy walked out onto the balcony and stood between two other colonels. He was shocked when Fuehrer Bradley came out and walked down to the grounds. He then heard the fuehrer say that he was there because it wasn't everyday that a twelve-year-old child takes an alchemy test.

The other man responded with "Isn't that a little unorthodox?"

"Age doesn't matter. As long as he's talented there is a place for him in the military, it's as simple as that."

The fuehrer walked closer to Ed and noticed his arm. "A prosthetic arm?" Bradley asked.

"In the east area evil war," Ed lied.

The fuehrer nodded and walked directly in front of Ed, he was about eight to ten feet away. "Yes, those Ishbalans put up quite a fight. He grinned slightly and only for a moment, before telling Ed to begin the test.

Ed whispered to a solder to his right, "Who the hell is he?"

"He's Fuehrer President King Bradley. The man in charge of the entire military," he replied.

Ed frowned. Couldn't they just pick a name and stick to it? How about just Fuehrer or President, or King. Why all three? Stupid people. . .

The soldier must have taken his silence as nervousness because he then told Ed not to be nervous. When he asked about Ed's tools to draw the circles with, Ed replied that he didn't need them.

Ed clapped and hit the stone ground in front of him. A crackling noise sounded and a blue light appeared in a circle around him. It almost seemed as if lighting was hitting the floor from above, but; obviously, the transmutation was below the young man. Slowly, as the small, light blue lighting bolds appeared, a rail of some kind came from the ground. Ed held his hand above it as it became clearer and clearer what the item coming from the floor was. The light cracked around the object and when it fully extended it turned out to be a rather beautiful spear. He grabbed it after the transmutation was complete. Everyone there was shocked, including Mustang. He didn't think Ed was that good. Transmutation without a circle was extremely rare.

"Well well," the Fuehrer said with a surprise.

Ed suddenly dashed at the Fuehrer, the sharp glint of the spears point, going directly at him.

"SIR!" the men exclaimed, drawing their guns. Ed stopped the point of the spear just an inch short of the man's neck. The soldiers surround Ed's head with pistols. The Fuehrer held up his hand to stop the men, and then waved them off. He knew Ed wasn't going to kill him.

"If I was really an assassin, you'd be dead right now. Maybe you guys should rethink this testing process, don't you think?"

The Fuehrer rubbed his chin. "That's true. I think I will give that some thought."

"You insolent twerp! You've failed! You hear me? YOU FAILED!" the soldier, who was one of the testers, exclaimed."

"Um . . . Did I go too far?" he asked. He was nervous at being told that. He couldn't fail this. His brother depended on him.

"That's not your decision to make. His written tests and psychological tests were adequate, and his practical skills are obviously incredible, but most of all, he has guts. His only fault is that he's inexperienced in the world."

The fuehrer walked past him and Ed heard a snap. He looked at his spear and saw the point fall to the ground, his eyes getting as big as saucers. He turned to see that the Fuehrer had his sword out and was waving goodbye.

"I look forward to the test results. Keep up the good work young alchemist."

Ed stared at the point and back at the Fuehrer three more times then meekly said, "When in the hell did he draw his sword?"

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Roy made his way out to the gate and sure enough, Riza was there. Right on time. He noticed that she carried a clipboard and a manila file folder in her arms. He watched her move her hair behind her ear as he approached. It was getting longer, much to his happiness. Though he loved her short hair, he'd always wanted to see it longer. He walked over to Riza and soon Ed made his way to them. Riza handed Ed a room key for the military barracks where he and Al would stay. Ed wasn't to leave Central for a week; she and Roy were to return to Eastern HQ the next evening. Ed had to stay just in case the council had any questions for him concerning his alchemy.

Ed had mentioned on the train that Al would be going back to Risembool to see Winry for a bit, he was picking up some tools that Winry wanted, and would meet him at East HQ.

"I must say that you put on quite a show," Mustang said to Ed.

"Would you shut up? I should charge you a spectator's fee. You are extremely lucky to get out of there alive after pointing a spear at the Fuehrer. Even if it was some sort of joke. If you get your license then you will be a part of the military. Your license will be provoked if there is any doubt of your loyalty to Bradley.

"Be careful huh? I should say the same to you," he said.

Roy looked at him strangely and stopped. Riza was also wondering what exactly Ed was getting at.

"When I pointing my spear at him, you were the only one that didn't seem very alarmed. That's hardly the reaction of a loyal subordinate."

Roy leaned toward Hawkeye, "He has a point doesn't he?" Roy asked.

"Colonel, in those kinds of situations you should at least act like you're concerned."

They began walking once more. "If you had done away with him back there, then it would have opened a position for me," Roy said.

"Hey! Wait a minute. . ." Ed got a devious smile on his face. "Maybe I should snitch on you to the military command." Ed wouldn't really do so but it was great blackmail to hang over his head. He was surprised when he heard Roy laugh.

"Where would that get you though?" he questioned.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I've got dirt of my own you know. "Do not create human's, Do not create gold, and swear absolute loyalty to the military. Those are three rules a state alchemist must never break. You attempted a transmutation. If that were to be made known your career would be over before it even took off. Most likely Al would be sent to a lab and be studied. Catch my drift? You keep your past a secret and accept the license if you get it, as if this conversation never happened and my own stock in the military will rise for finding such a talented little alchemist.

Ed stopped and clinched his fists in anger.

"As long as your little secret stays under wraps we both win. Don't be getting any ideas about telling anything about what I've said.

"Why you lousy!" Ed growled.

"You've got two weeks till they announce the results. Enjoy your week here and I will see you in East city with the results.

"Why are they being sent to you first?"

He turned and smirked. "Why, I will be your commanding officer Ed," Mustang said.

"WHAT!" Ed exclaimed as Roy and Riza walked away from him.

Al looked up as he purchased the last item on Winry's list. He could have sworn he heard Ed yell. . .

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Riza and Roy arrived at the hotel and went to their room. The military always paid for their hotel lodgings so they had to get two rooms to ward off suspicion. Most of the time, only one of those rooms were used.

"What time is our dinner with the Hughes?"

"Eight o'clock," she replied. He walked over to her and hugged her. She was a bit taken aback by the display of affection but hugged him back. They pulled away slightly. His arms were still around her and her hands held to his sides.

"What was that for?" she asked.

"You look beautiful," he stated.

"What do you want?"

"Why do I have to want something to call you beautiful and hug my beautiful wife?"

"Because I know you and you do this when you want something," she stated. He bent his head to kiss her and picked her up. He deposited her on the bed and smiled as he took off his coat and boots, then took hers off. He crawled on the bed and pulled her into his arms. He started to kiss her neck and hit the spot he knew would get her all worked up. She squirmed away from him and stood, grabbing her boots and putting them on.

"We don't have time for that. We only have an hour to get ready and get to the Hughes'."

Roy frowned and sat up, placing his feet on the floor.

"I am going to go get ready. I suggest that you do the same," she said.

"Fine," he grumbled and stood. She kissed his cheek and left to go get ready in the separate room.

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Riza stepped out of her room and walked over to Roy's. She was wearing a simple tan skirt and black shirt. She had her standard black purse with her and was wearing her military flat dress shoes. Her now chin length hair was down.

She walked into Roy's room. He smiled when he saw her and slipped on his shirt. Riza noted what a pity it was that he had to cover up that chest. She walked over to him and straightened his collar as he buttoned the shirt. He tucked it into his pants and sighed.

"You look handsome," she said. He smirked at her and kissed her quickly.

"You look beautiful as usual," he stated.

"We should get going," she stated.

Roy nodded. If they were heading to the office they would show up separately but in this case arriving together was no problem. Other than a bit of teasing and getting annoyed, nothing would come of it.

They left the hotel and made their way to the Hughes'. Maes smiled widely and ushered the two of them in. Gracia came out of the kitchen and smiled. She hugged Riza and Roy.

"I just need to sit everything out and we can have dinner," she stated. "Make yourself at home."

"I will help you Gracia," Riza stated and followed the woman into the kitchen. Maes and Roy walked into the living room where Maes poured Roy a drink then got one for himself. They stood at the fireplace in silence. When around Maes silence really was golden. Roy knew it wouldn't last though.

"It's almost like you two are a married couple," Maes stated.

"Maes," Roy warned him.

"Oh come on, humor me here. You two are so damn perfect for each other and you know it. So when are you going to pop the question?"

"When are you going to try and stop getting me to marry her?"

"When are you going to stop trying to stop me from getting you to marry her?"

Roy growled at him, and narrowed his eyes. "I am not the marrying type Maes, you know that."

"All men are the marrying type. They just need to find the right woman and you've done that!"

"What makes you so sure it's Riza," he said.

"AH HA!" Maes exclaimed.

"AH HA What?" Roy questioned.

"You called her by her first name," Maes said.

"That's not unusual. We aren't at work after all," he stated.

"You never call her by her first name! It's usually Hawkeye or Lieutenant."

Roy mentally scolded himself. He reminded himself to be more careful of that from now own.

"It's nothing Maes. There is nothing going on other than a close friendship."

"That could perhaps be more in the future," he stated.

"Need I remind you of the frat laws?"

"So you are saying that if the frat laws didn't exist that you would marry her?"

Roy hit his head down on the mantle. Didn't his best friend ever give up?"

Riza walked into the living room. "The dinner's ready sirs," she stated.

"Awww. . .Riza don't call me sir in my home. Maes is fine!" He said. She chuckled and nodded.

"I am sure Roy wouldn't mind being called by his first name either," he stated.

She just smiled slightly and nodded, walking into the dining room.

Dinner was pretty much uneventful. However, during the entire dinner Riza felt extremely uncomfortable. It was as if Hughes and Gracia had invited them just to see how she and Roy would react in a intimate setting such as this. She thanked the heavens when, after they had dessert in the living room, she and Roy were leaving.

After saying goodbye they left the Hughes household and made their way back to the hotel. Roy flopped down on the bed in his room, while Riza grabbed her bag to take over to his room. She came in his room and he sat up, leaning back on his arms. He watched as she lifted the top over her head, noting how her body moved when doing so. She unzipped her skirt and it fell to the floor. Now she was standing there in her underwear and the sight was wonderful. She glanced at Roy.

"You should change for bed too," she said with a smile.

"What change?" he asked, all he had to do was take off his clothing. "Besides, I enjoy watching you."

She shook her head and laughed as she loosened her bra and folded it to rest on top of her folded outfit. He eyed her breasts until they disappeared under her silk nightgown that he'd gotten for her a while back. She went inside the bathroom to wash the makeup off his face.

Roy stood and took off his clothing. He didn't bother folding them and just sat them in a chair. He crawled into bed and dimmed the lights. Maybe he could get his revenge on Riza for the pudding incident tonight. He looked at her as she walked out of the bathroom. She sighed at his clothes and proceeded to fold them and sit them properly on the chair.

As he watched her body move under that silk he knew there would be no way in hell he could tease her and hold back. He was having a difficult time just watching her do such a simple task. There would be no way he could seduce her and then just forget it, getting her worked up got him worked up.

She smiled at him and crawled into the bed. She reached to turn off the lamp on her side and he did the same on his. He then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against his chest.

"Riza," he asked.

"Yes?" she replied with a yawn.

"Can we test your mousse and whipped cream theory when we get back home." His response was a hit in the gut with her elbow.

It was worth a try. . .

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Two weeks later Ed was sitting in front of Roy. A small box on the table was opened to reveal a watch.

"This watch proves that you are a State Alchemist. Guard it with your life. Also, here is your certificate and other forms. I don't have time to read them all to you myself." He read a bit of the top one to see what Ed's alchemy name was. "Well, this is rather ironic. I guess it proves the Fuehrer has a sense of humor."  
"What do you mean?" Ed asked.

Roy handed Ed the certificate.

"By the power vested in me as Fuehrer President, I King Bradley hereby bestow upon Edward Elric the title of Fullmetal," Ed read aloud. He looked up at Roy in question. "Fullmetal?"

"That's right. When you become a state alchemist you get a codename. From now on you will be known as the Fullmetal Alchemist."

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**_AN: Please drop a review my way. Thanks! _**


	24. Vacation Pt 1

_**Best Kept Secret**_

_**Author: MoonStarDutchess**_

_**Chapter 24: The Vacation Pt 1 **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA **_

_**AN: Thank you all so much for being so patient with this story and me. It means a lot. Sorry this chapter is shorter than normal. With finals and things going on it's hard to update. This was ten pages and I hope you enjoy this. This part isn't taken from the manga or anime. It's my own little side story because I would get bored only writing anime/manga scenes. I was going to wait until I got to my normal 20 pages but my friend encouraged me to post what I have here. Hope you enjoy and please drop a review my way.**_

* * *

**The Vacation Pt 1. **

"It's about damn time!" Roy said as he read the letter in his hands. He was leaned back in his chair and his feet were popped up on a pile of unfinished paperwork.

"What is about time?" Riza questioned, looking up from her paperwork and frowning when she noticed Roy's current bodily position.

"My vacation request came through," he said, his eyes not rising from the letter.

She narrowed her eyes but didn't say anything, at least not so he could hear her clearly. She just looked down at the paperwork and muttered, "You don't do anything now. I don't know why you think you deserve a vacation."

"Did you say something Lieutenant?" he asked, his gaze still not rising.

"No sir, it was nothing," she answered. The office would have gone almost silent if it wasn't for the noise that Riza's pencil made as it scratched across the paper. Suddenly another noise joined hers. It was the squeaking of a chair. She stopped writing and gaze at the Colonel who was swiveling back and forth in his chair.

The letter that notified him of his vacation was sitting on his desk and he was still in the same position only this time his gaze were focused on picking something off his white gloves.

Was he trying to annoy her today? Was that it or did it just come so naturally to him? Was it something in his blood that made him act that way? She made a mental note to call Roy's mother and ask about his father's habits. It would be nothing out of the ordinary and wouldn't give their marital status away. Roy's mother had worked as a secretary for his father at his business before they married. She'd once accompanied Roy home so he could pick up a few things and she'd given some handy tips on keeping her son in line.

"So, Lieutenant. . ." Roy started, as he continued to swivel.

"Yes sir?" she replied.

"Where shall we go on vacation?" Her facial expression went from an annoyed one to one of absolute shock.

"Wha. . .what do you mean we sir? I never put in for a vacation."

"Yes you did," he said with a smirk.

"Colonel, I didn't. I would remember if I filled one out wouldn't I?"

"Yes, you would but you didn't."

"I know I didn't that's what I've been trying to tel. . . Sir. . . Did you happen to. . ."

"Yes, and it was paperwork well worth doing. Tell me, have you checked your mail?" he asked. Riza sighed. She should have known that Roy would do something like this the moment the words _**we **_came from his lips.

She grabbed her mail that was sitting on the side of her desk. She was going to wait until she'd finished the mornings work before going through it. She went through the letters one by one until she came to the familiar tan government envelope.

She laid the other letters down and flipped it around to open it. She narrowed her eyes when she saw the line of tape had been severed slightly. Only one person did that to mail to try and "secretly" open it and that person was currently gazing at her intently.

She took the letter from the envelope and unfolded it. She ran her eyes over the words of said letter and frowned. She didn't need a vacation and neither did Roy yet here was her approval as well.

"You didn't happen to fill one of these out for Havoc did you?" she asked.

Roy huffed. "Hell no, I don't want Havoc going on vacation with us."

She sighed. That wasn't what she'd meant when she asked that. She'd wanted to make sure he wasn't just trying to get the three of them off duty for some reason. She calmly put the letter back in it's container and placed it with the others which found their way back to the corner of her desk. She then began doing her paperwork once more without so much as another word or the slightest gaze in his direction. It once again returned to the quite office with only the occasionally pencil scratch. Then the screeching of the chair began yet again. She tried to ignore it but it was really grating her nerves, which had been amplified negatively by his vacation revelation. She gazed at a screw that resided on the bottom area of said chair. One shoot and. . . No, she wouldn't do that. She wouldn't give any fodder to the rumor that she shot at her commanding officer frequently. . . She'd only done it once.

She looked back down at her paperwork and the screeching continued. She gripped her pencil tightly and it broke. She looked at the colonel who seemed to still be in his own little world. She threw the broken pencil away and retrieved a new one. She began writing and the noise of the swiveling chair ceased to stop. Finally she was sick of it. She pulled her gun from her holster and shot the screw at the bottom of the chair. Roy's face was in shock as the chair fell apart under him and he went down onto the floor with a loud crash.

Havoc rushed into the room to see Roy slowly getting up and Riza starting to do her paperwork.

"What in the hell happened?"

Before Roy could say anything Riza replied with, "The colonel's chair broke."

------------------

"You are pissed," Roy said as they made their way down the street. He was walking beside her, both hands in his coat pockets and his hat tightly down on his head, shading his eyes from view. If one could see those eyes they would see a slightly fearful look with some concern thrown in for good measure.

"I need groceries and so do you," she said.

"We can't get groceries together in our uniforms can you imagine the rumors that would fly about us?"

She glared a look at him that made him take a step back. "You mean like the rumors that are going to fly when people find out that we are taking our vacations at the same time!"

"Oh, didn't think of that," he said. They continued to walk and walked past the grocery. "I thought you were going to go shopping," he said. When she didn't reply he lifted his had up to his chin. "You know it still isn't a big deal if you think about it," he stated.

"No?" she snarled lightly.

"No. I mean, rumors fly around about us all of the time."

Riza stopped in her tracks and looked at him. "They do?"

"You mean you haven't heard them?" he asked.

"No, I haven't. Wait, how did you?"

"Those blasted dates ask me and Havoc hears anything of relationship or sexual nature that happens in other headquarters. He keeps me updated."

"What are they?" she asked and they began walking."

Roy smirked. "Well, there's the simples ones. Like those carnations that appear on your desk on your birthday are from me," he started.

"They aren't though. Those are from my grandfather," she stated. They walked up to their apartment building and went inside.

"Those peanut butter cookies I get on my birthday are from you. That we go dancing every Friday night outside of town."

"Your mother makes those and you've never taken me dancing," she responded. They walked to her apartment and she opened the door.

"That we are madly in love with each other and that we frequently write each other love notes and exchange them in the files we pass back and forth. And then there's my favorite."

They went inside her apartment and she clicked the light on. She then turned as he closed the door. She took off her black coat and hug it up, he did the same. She placed her hand on her hips.

"And what's your favorite?" she asked. He walked up to her and lifted her to sit her on the table against the wall. He brought his lips to hers softly then pulled away.

"That we've fucked on every piece of equipment in the office."

"That's horrible! We need to squelch that one," she stated and jumped off the table. She took off her uniform jacket and folded it.

"I think that one is a rather noble goal to set," he said with a seductive smirk. She blushed, walked away to the bedroom. Roy laughed at her fluster and followed her. He walked in to see her changing into a green skirt. Her back bare except for the strap of her bra that went around her upper body. He studied the line of her back until he came to a familiar scar and grimaced. Soon the scar was covered by the fabric of a white dress shirt. He smirked and walked over to her as she buttoned said shirt. He wrapped his arms around her waist and settled his chin on her shoulder. She looked at the reflection in the mirror.

She smirked inwardly. She had to admit that the two of them did make an adorable couple. She never though herself to be that pretty but when with Roy she always felt lovely. As if reading her mind Roy whispered in her ear how beautiful he though she was, his lips softly brushing the skin. He squeezed her tightly and kissed her neck once. She smiled at him and Roy looked up at their reflections as well; voicing her opinion on the vision reflecting back, only in a more cocky tone.

"Damn! I'd say we are the best looking couple in Amestris."

Riza laughed and turned in his arms. "Go get in some civvies and we can go grocery shopping," she said.

Roy sighed and nodded. He kissed her forehead and reluctantly let go of her. He walked out of the room and over to his place to change.

------------------------------------------

It was always the same thing when they went shopping. They would run into these elderly couples that wished them the best on their life together. Sometimes they would comment on what a wonderful couple they made. Other times a guy would try to hit on Riza and Roy would suddenly put an arm around her shoulder and the guy would back off. Roy would smile at the ladies but wouldn't make a move in their direction which disappointed most of them.

At the moment, women were looking at him but his gaze was directed at Riza. As he watched her pick through the produce he realized that even if someone were to spot them, they would never expect Riza to look the way she does now. Her hair down almost completely changed her looks. If that didn't work then the clothing that she wore would. No one would expect to see her in such feminine clothing after all. He'd heard what they said about her. Women around said that they'd bet she didn't own a dress or a skirt when actually her closet was full of more skirts and dresses than pants.

Riza looked up when she felt his eyes on her. "What is it? Why are you gazing at me like that?"

"This is nice," he said. She looked confused as she put the produce in the shopping cart.

"What is?"

"Being a normal couple like this. I was just thinking about how domestic you look and how even us being out like this no one would recognize you."

"Is that a complement?" she asked. He grabbed the cart handled with one hand and wrapped the other around her shoulders. "Roy," she scolded but didn't pull away.

He smirked at her. "It's nice to be normal isn't it?"

She laughed and nodded. "Yea, It is."

---------------------------------

"Why does it seem like we spend most of our lives on a train?" Riza asked. Even though she was in civilian clothing she was cleaning one of the small guns that she always carried with her.

"It doesn't," he said, stretching his arm on the top of the seat behind Riza's head. "We spend most of our lives behind a desk doing paper work."

"What would you rather be doing? I can think of worse things to be doing," she said, finally putting her gun back together and placing it in her purse.

"I can think of better," he replied smugly.

"Such as?" as soon as those words left her lips she scolded herself. She should have known better than to prompt her perverted husband like that.

"Vacationing, sleeping, things like that," he said.

To say she was shocked was an understatement. She looked at him and let the surprise show. "That's it?"

He turned to her, tilted his head and asked innocently. "What do you mean?" She looked away from him and faced forward.

"It's nothing. I meant nothing, let's just forget about it."

Roy smirked. He knew she thought he was going to say something perverted. In all truth he was going to but then this brilliant idea dawned on him that told him to arrange it so she would be the one to mention the perverted thing. This would be revenge for the situation in the train with the pudding, whipped cream and the spoon.

"No, I am curious now. You know us alchemists; always wanting to know the answers to questions."

"This isn't important. It's not scientific, you wouldn't care."

He lowered his arm to go around her shoulders. "Of course I would care! You are my wife. I care about what you have to say."

Riza sighed and muttered. "I thought you were going to mention sex." She said this so low, hoping Roy didn't hear her and would decide not to ask again.

"What was that? I couldn't hear that love," he said.

Finally, she was a bit fed up with his fooling. She realized that he was TRYING to get her to be the pervert. She poked him in the chest with her index finger.

"I know what you are trying to do and it isn't going to work. You are trying to get me to say perverted things. But I've got news for you; I am not going to say it again. That murmur is all you get."

He held up the hand that wasn't current stretched awkwardly at her shoulders.  
"Say what?"

"Dammit Roy! I thought you were going to say that fucking was one of the better things you'd rather be doing!" she snapped then cursed to herself.

She frowned and turned away from Roy when he laughed at her.

"I finally did it," he said.

She turned to him, putting on her best glare. "You finally did what?"

"I finally got the upper hand!" he exclaimed.

Riza narrowed her eyes slightly then smirked at him. He knew that smirk and didn't like exactly what it meant.

"I hope you enjoy that hand because it's what you will be using this entire vacation if you don't straighten up."

Roy paled.

-------------------------------

Roy and Riza checked in at the hotel and went up to their room. Riza had a hard time restraining herself when she heard the name Roy had checked them in under, Roy and Riza Butkiss. Other people would pick a simple name like Smith or Reynolds, but not Roy. She sat her suitcase on the bed to unpack her clothing. She opened it and ventured a look at her husband. He was putting up his own clothing in a side of the wardrobe that lined the wall. He was whistling and seemed to be in really good spirits. It seemed he saw nothing wrong with the name he'd chosen for them.

She finally started chuckling and because of hearing said chuckle, Roy turned to her. "What's wrong?" he asked, completely confused as to why she was chuckling.

Finally, upon seeing Roy's confused face she started laughing loudly. He walked up to her and placed a hand on her forehead. "Hummm you don't have a fever."

She took his hand off her head and took a step closer. She put her head on his chest and continued to laugh. He shrugged and wrapped her in his arms. "What in the hell are you finding so amusing."

When her laughter died down, she answered his question. She looked up at his face and said, "You."

"What did I do?" he questioned.

She stared up at that loveable man that was sometimes to childish for his own good. He was stubborn, couldn't take many things seriously (Ishbal being a large exception), and if there were an annual award for procrastination he would be the undefeated winner. The same things that annoyed her about him were the very things that made her love him so much. "It's nothing Roy. Just another thing I love about you," she said.

The confused looked didn't leave his face. She leaned up and kissed him softly. However, when she pulled away the confused look remained. "I guess I am just attracted to idiots," she joked and left his arms to put up her clothing.

"I am not an idiot," he muttered, taking his now empty suitcase and sliding it under the bed. Riza closed the doors of the wardrobe and walked over to Roy.

"Well, what's first?"

"What do you mean?"

"You always have a plan every time we go on vacation. You are worse than me with organizing paper work when it comes to organizing vacations." Roy was a nitpicky man when it came to vacation events. Last year during a three day business trip (that only one day was necessary for) he'd planned how they spent every minute of the other two days. Half of it was spent under the sheets of the bed, in one of the two hotel rooms.

"I didn't plan this time. I have no clue what to do. I figured this place was out of the way enough so that we could basically. . ."

"Basically what?" she questioned.

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Riza went over to answer it and too her surprise it was a bellhop with a cart. On said cart was two covered plates (with food most likely) two down turned wineglasses and a bottled of chilled wine resting in a bucket of ice.

"Complements of the hotel," the bellhop said.

"Oh?" Riza said, apparently in a questioning tone.

"Free first meal to honeymooners," he stated and left before they could give him a tip. She walked over, locked the door and turned to Roy.

"Honeymooners?" she questioned. He grinned. "Well, we never had a proper one so I thought that maybe we could have one this time."

She marched over to him and he closed his eyes, expecting to be berated or perhaps slapped for the deceit. Instead, he felt arms wrap around his neck and his head resting on something soft. He opened his eyes to see that his forehead was against her stomach, and she was hugging him.

He pulled away and looked up at her, to see a smile and if he didn't know better, he would say that there were tears present in her eyes. She cupped his face and kissed him as she straddled his lap. Finally, she pushed him back on the bed and pulled away from the kiss.

"I love you. . . Roy Butkiss," she said, saying the last name with a chuckle. He wrapped his arms around her waist and grinned. He started to lean up for another kiss when she sat up and started unbuttoning his shirt.

"How about the wine?" he asked.

"Later," she said and kissed him.

-----------------------------------------------------------

The next few days were like heaven for Riza and Roy. Since the town didn't have a military base and was crowded with so many people, they didn't have to worry much about being spotted by someone they possibly knew. Also, if they were, it wasn't as if Riza would be recognized much due to the way she looked so different.

The things other couples, normal couples, took for granted were the things that they treasured most. Cuddling on the beach during sunset, holding hands and going for long walk, being able to kiss in public: these things were memories worth treasuring and they wouldn't take all the money in Amestris for them.

Riza and Roy were current walking down the boardwalk to the beach when Roy suddenly lifted her by the waist and sat her on the railing of said boardwalk. He smiled at her as she put her hands on his shoulders. "I love you," he said.

"Where'd that come from all of a sudden?" she asked. One minute there was silence, the next he was saying he loved her. She knew this already and didn't have a clue what moved him to tell her in this particular instant in time.

"I just wanted to say that. I love you Riza Hawkeye," he said. Before she could respond, she saw something out of the corner of her eye in the bushes. He noticed the look in her eyes and froze. Riza truly did have eyes of a hawk and currently they were targeting something.

"You have your gun on right?" she asked, looking into his eyes, trying to act loving instead of the true feelings that were going through her mind.

"Under my jacket," he said.

She jumped down and ran her hands down his chest and into his jacket where she could feel the holster. She grabbed the gun and clicked the safety off. Roy took out his gloves and put them on. They moved around toward the bush just as a shot rang out. Riza pushed Roy out of the way and the bullet grazed her arm. She twisted and started to fire but saw that the person, in this case a man, was running through the crowds. Riza wouldn't have missed from that distance but people were unpredictable and just any one of that crowd could run in front. It only took a split second. Roy understood why she didn't fire and with only one look at each other the two took off in the direction of that the attacker ran.

* * *

**AN:I will update again before December's over. I said I would give you two chapters this December and I will. Please drop a review.**


	25. Vacation Pt 2

-1**Best-Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess **

**Chapter 25 : Vacation Pt 2**

**AN: Thanks so much to all the readers for the support. It means the world to me so thank you all for sticking with this story. Thanks to Drex for betaing for me again. I am glad you got your computer fixed. Laptops tend to be a pain. This is the beta'ed version. **

**Vacation Pt 2**

Roy and Riza rushed through the crowd, trying not to push people down as they kept their eyes on the man wearing the green coat. Roy was having a hard time but he knew that Riza, with her eyesight being what it was, wouldn't lose sight of him. The man ran across the street resulting in the sound of honking horns and the screech of tires skidding on the road. The cars stopped and their drivers were yelling as Riza and Roy ran across the road. They followed the man into an alley and Roy couldn't help but think about how people always ran into alleys when being pursued, his mind didn't have time to linger for long as Riza grabbed a metal pipe and threw it. Roy winced when it hit the back of the man's head causing him to fall to the ground, Riza ran over to him when he suddenly flipped up and punched her across the face, into the wall. Roy saw red after that and snapped, using much the same force as he did when Bald tried to attack him at the station a while ago.

The man moaned as Riza walked over to him, he pulled his gun and Riza pointed hers but before she could fire he turned the gun on himself, a bang rang through the alley and he fell back, the blood gushing from his fatal wound.

Riza lowered her gun and turned away from the man, Roy walked up to her, glancing at the man before turning his attention to her face. It was red where he had punched her and a bruise was just beginning to form but the worst injury was to her lip which was bleeding quite badly. He took out his handkerchief, and proceeded to wipe the blood from her lips.

"You all right?"

"Yeah, I've had worse."

After wiping the blood away he bent and kissed the cut softly. When he pulled away she grinned slightly for a moment before her face turned serious once more.

"What do you think he wanted?" she asked. "Other than to kill you that is."

"I don't have a clue," he said.

She raised an eyebrow. "He's not one of the boyfriends whose girl you took away from is he?"

"Like I pay attention to their boyfriends?" Roy said before thinking. He turned to see Riza with a rather pissed off look on her face, she knew Roy didn't take them intentionally nor did he really care for the girls but to hear him talk about it so nonchalantly angered her.

"We should call the police and notify military command."

"Right but we need an excuse for being here together first just in case they ask."

Riza sighed. "Maybe Hughes has an idea," she offered. "He is in charge of investigations so wouldn't he be investigating this?"

"Good idea, let's call him first."

"You go, I'll stay here with the body."

Roy nodded and made his way to a phone booth.

-----------------------------

"I seeeeeee…… so you and Riza were on vacation together huh?" Maes said in that tone of voice that made Roy want to fry him.

"Maes, the only reason we met up here is because it's a popular vacation spot and Riza was visiting her hometown nearby. She just happened to be here to pick up a few things. But do you really think the military is going to believe only that?"

"So you met merely by circumstance?"

"Yes," Roy stated with a sigh.

"I see," Maes stated. Roy knew from that tone that something was coming, he braced himself and held the phone a bit away from his ear. "FATE IS TRYING TO TELL YOU TWO SOMETHING!" he shouted enthusiastically into the phone. Roy grinned at missing the volume of the piercing scream entering his ear but he still heard what was said. He put the receiver back up to his ear.

"Maes," he said in a warning tone, even thought he was quite amused at the outburst. "Frat laws remember?"

He heard Maes sigh and mutter something about damn laws. "I'll be there in the morning Roy. I'll call the local police and tell them what happened. What's the address. After Roy gave the address and heard the standard last line from Hughes about "get yourself a wife" he hung up and made his way back to Hawkeye.

"Hughes has it covered," he stated. "He's going to contact the cops for us and explain what is going on, with any luck the higher-ups won't even ask why we were together. Hughes has an excuse planned if they do."

"Bet you he asked right?" she questioned.

"More like he jumped to a bunch of conclusions," Roy said.

"And got why we were here exactly right?" Riza said.

"Yea," Roy said with a frustrated sigh, before smirking at her. "If I didn't know better I would believe that man was psychic."

"What excuse did you give him?"

"That you were visiting your hometown nearby, and we ran into each other when you came here to pick up a few things. But what are the odds of the higher-ups believing that, so he came up with something."

Riza nodded. "That was pretty good for a spur of the moment excuse."

"What spur of the moment? It took me ten minutes before I even called Hughes to tell him what was going on."

"Roy, with your sex craving brain ten minutes is spur of the moment," she replied, Roy was extremely intelligent of course, he wouldn't be an alchemist otherwise, but it was fun to tease him about his intelligence capabilities.

He opened his mouth to reply but nothing came. He cursed to himself, his wife had out witted him again!

The cops soon came and got a statement from them. True to his word, Hughes had called and explained. After the coroner got the body, Roy and Riza left and went back to their hotel room, where Riza flopped down on the bed.

"It can never be normal can it?" she sighed as Roy sat beside her.

"Sorry," he said.

She sat up and shook her head. "There's nothing for you to be sorry for. There's nothing for either of us to be sorry for in that aspect. We just don't lead normal lives. We have greater goals to accomplish right now."

He turned to her and hugged her, falling onto his back with her head resting on his chest, cuddled close to him.

"Maes is going to be here in the morning," he said.

Riza nodded her head; she was comfortable and didn't feel like speaking. Roy pulled her close and sighed. "What do you want to do?"

Riza cuddled even closer to him and kissed his neck once before laying her head back down, "Riza?" he asked and looked down at her. She was just laying there, eyes closed and her hands playing with the buttons of his shirt. "What do you want to do with what little is left of our vacation?"

She finally moved to stand up, grabbing his hand she led him over to the couch. Handing him his gloves she went over to the phone. He looked at his gloves then the fireplace, hearing her order wine, he knew what she wanted. He put on his gloves and lit the fireplace, as she hung up the phone and walked back over to him. He took off his gloves and laid them on the table then she took his hand and pulled him on to the couch, cuddling up to him once more. He couldn't stop the stupid grin from appearing on his face.

Though she could make the strongest men in the military piss themselves in fear with one look, she could also melt the heart of anyone she directed a smile towards. She was a gentle woman who loved to act as such anytime she had a chance. She couldn't show this side often out in public because of her job. As much as he hated to say it, men in the military didn't take well to women in uniform; women had to work so much harder than men to be taken seriously. As a result, she put on the tough, cold demeanor so she would be respected in her own right.

He knew she was one of the most well respected snipers/gunners in the military, and he had quite a few general's tell him how lucky he was that Hawkeye decided to go the career route that she did and how she would make a hell of a sniper commander. He'd also noticed that when the sniper groups came into headquarters she would always go to lunch with them. She didn't go to lunch with coworkers unless it was business so he reasoned that they were friends, perhaps she had served with some of them in Ishbal.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, Riza started to stand but Roy stood first. "I'll get it," he said and walked to the door. Riza watched as he went to the door. He'd been deep in thought before the knock, she'd felt him tense up quite a bit then relax, only to tense up again. She offered him a smile when he came towards her wheeling a cart. He opened the wine and poured it into the two glasses, handing her one, he took his previous position on the couch, as did she.

"You all right?" she asked, tilting her head to look up at him.

He looked surprised at her question. "Yeah, I am fine. Why?"

"You were deep in thought before room service came and I felt you tense up."

"Oh," Roy said with a chuckle. "It was just random thoughts. I was thinking about how hard it is for a woman to be in the military."

"Very difficult indeed," she acknowledged.

"You seem to be well respected."

"Only because of Ishbal and I made quite a few friends that weren't sexist. Poor Maria Ross had it tough."

"What do you mean?"

"She was a year behind me at the academy. They gave her hell and there wasn't much I could do for her. Everything that her class did, they blamed it on her."

Roy cringed.

"How'd you get to thinking about that anyhow?"

"I was thinking about how you seem so tough at the office and a bit in public but when we are alone you like to cuddle and read romance novels."

Riza blushed. "So you were thinking about me and my quirks?"

"I am always thinking about you Riza. You should know that."

She laughed. "Here I thought you only liked me because I gave you good sex."

"Sex? What's that?" he asked. She grabbed a pillow and hit him with it. . .

-----------------

"The higher-ups just told me to handle it," Hughes said, the next day. The three of them were having lunch at a small café in the middle of the town. "No excuse needed."

"That's a relief," Roy said.

Riza just stayed silent and sipped her tea. She was running her heeled foot up Roy's leg by instinct. When she was worried, she would always do that. Roy was used to it so it didn't bother him as long as Maes didn't see it. He didn't need to be teased about Riza playing footsy with him.

"How many days left in your vacation?" Maes asked.

"Two," Roy said.

"Perfect!" he exclaimed.

Riza put down her tea and raised an eyebrow. "Perfect for what?" she asked before Roy could.

"You can come back and stay with Gracia and I! She would be happy to see you!"

"But. . ." Roy started. Maes stood, effectively cutting him off.

"Great! I'll call and tell her!" he said and walked toward a phone.

"He doesn't let anyone answer does he?" Riza laughed.

"How do you think he gets his way all the time?" he replied, before looking under the table at Riza's foot still running up and down his leg. "Why are you nervous?"

"That man always makes me nervous," she joked, then told him the real reason. "I was just worried about the higher-ups inquiring as to why we were here together."

"You heard Maes though. They just told him to handle it. So why are you still doing that?"

"You don't like it?" she asked and moved her hand down under the table to trail across his thigh as she moved her leg higher.

"Riza!" he whispered, shocked she would do that in public, especially when the ever observant Maes was in the same general location. She removed her hand quickly and picked up her tea when Maes walked back to them.

"It's settled!" he said, the excitement evident in his voice. "You guys will have to share a room though. I am sure that won't be a problem right? You do share rooms sometimes when you are on missions right? We have a very comfortable roll away to put in the room. "

The two stared at him like he'd grown a head. Of course this was pure acting, they had no problem with it.

Maes grinned inwardly. After what he'd seen in Ishbal he knew it wouldn't be a problem. Plus, his friends Mr. and Mrs. Buttkiss were sharing a room at the very moment anyhow. He knew the roll away wouldn't be put to use. He would play along with the rouse though, after all, if they got caught fraternizing they would be court-martialed and Roy's goals would go down the proverbial toilet.

"I'll meet you two at the train station in two hours," he said and left the café.

------------------

Riza and Roy went back to the hotel and packed their things. Just as Riza snapped the fasteners on her suitcase she felt an arm around her waist. Soon, she had been spun around and her back was against the wall. Her wrists were now firmly against the wall as well, on each side of her head and lips were kissing her neck.

"Roy," she groaned as he nipped at the skin.

"Just a quick one," he stated. Lifting her skirt and pulling her underwear away her. She heard his belt loosen and felt him lift her, her legs wrapped around his waist and he entered her. He stared into her eyes. "No protests?" he questioned. She answered him by grabbing the back of his head and pulling his lips down to hers.

--------------

"It's good to see you again," Gracia said. Roy and Riza smiled at the heavily pregnant woman, before Maes kissed her and rubbed her stomach.

"How's the baby?" Roy asked.

"I think it's going to be a soccer player the way it likes to kick," she laughed. "Let me show you to your room."

"I'll do it. You sit down and rest!" Maes stated and took Roy took Riza's suitcase. "I'll take it. You can keep Gracia company," he added.

"Thank you sir," Riza said. Roy had to hide the cringe of hearing her call him sir. He and Maes went up the stairs as Gracia and Riza went into the kitchen, where Gracia began to open the oven.

"Here, let me help you," Riza said, grabbing the pot holders and lifting the roast out of the oven, Gracia watching as Riza moved it on to the top of the stove. Something on the left side of Riza's upper back near her shoulder caught her attention as Riza's shoulder length hair moved. The collar was just low enough to reveal a bit but what she saw made her cringe, there was a horrible burn scar on it. She'd noticed that Riza had a few scars on her arms and hands but this was beyond what she thought the young woman had gone through, Gracia decided that she wouldn't ask about it. It just hurt her to see that Riza had gone through something that would cause her such an injury.

Riza turned around and smiled at Gracia. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

------------------

"Wow, you are quite a cook Gracia," Roy said.

"She is isn't she?" Maes said proudly. "Doesn't it just make you want to settle down Roy?"

"No, not really," he growled.

"Maes!" Gracia scolded. "He'll settle down when he's good and ready." Gracia turned to Riza. "How about you though?"

"What about me?" she asked.

"Do you want a husband and family? Women tend to settle down when they are younger."

"Are you calling me old?" she joked.

"Of course not. I'm just saying. . . " she started, alarmed that she had insulted the blond.

Riza laughed slightly. "Calm down. I was joking. No, I'm not ready for that yet. I already have an office of babies to watch, I couldn't handle dealing with my own yet."

Roy chuckled at Riza's answer. "I wouldn't laugh sir, you are included in that little group." Roy instantly stopped laughing as everyone else at the table started to laugh.

Gracia stood, placing a hand on her stomach. "I should do the dishes then I can get us all some coffee. You all can go in the living room."

"I'll help you Gracia," Riza offered.

"Thank you," she replied.

"You need me to help as well?" Roy asked.

"You'd end up breaking something," Riza stated. Roy frowned and Maes dragged him into the living room for a drink.

Gracia and Riza were soon finished with the dishes.

"Unplug the water. . . Broke."

Riza stared down at the water. "What is the water broke?" She figured a water broke was a new term among house wives at first before she put two and two together and stared over at Gracia wide-eyed. She grabbed Gracia and led her into the living room.

"We have a problem!" Riza stated, noting that the two men were playing chess.

"You're telling me. I can't move without Roy taking my queen," Maes said.

"I DON"T MEAN THAT!" she snapped, as Gracia lay down on the couch. "Gracia's water broke"

"Then get her another glass," Roy stated and made a move. Suddenly both men realized what Riza said, and started to panic.

"What are we going to do?" Roy yelped.

"Boil water!" Maes yelled. He suddenly stopped and grabbed Roy by the collar. "You are an alchemist! Can't you just alchemistize it out of her?"

"Alchemistize? That isn't even a word Maes!"

Gracia couldn't help but laugh at the two men, then she groaned. "Don't make me laugh."

"You heard her! Don't make her laugh or it might shoot out of her like one of those cannon balls!"

Finally Riza had enough. She drew her gun from her thigh holster and fired into the air, effectively silencing the two men. They stared at her, wide eyed. "Major Hughes. . . Go get a doctor!" she growled.

"Why don't we just take her to the hospital?" Riza pointed at the window where a blizzard was wellk underway. It may have been warm where they were vacationing but it was winter in central. She narrowed her eyes at Maes. "GO!" she snapped. He grabbed his coat and rushed out the door.

"What can I do Riza?" Roy asked, letting her name slip from his lip, as he knelt beside her.

"Go warm some water, get me wash cloths and some towels and then a bottle of the strongest alcohol they have with a glass."

Roy nodded. He grabbed some water but instead of heating it on the stove he slipped on his gloves and snapped at it, effectively heating it. He sat it down beside Riza and went to get some cloths and towels. After doing that he sat beside her. She rung out the cloth and wrapped Gracia's face with it.

"Her contractions are ten minutes apart," she said.

"Is that good?" She glared at him. "You are a scientist and you don't know about contractions?"

"I studied alchemy not child birth!"

"I didn't study science at all other than chemistry and I know about it!" she snapped.

"Well you have the same equipment as a woman? There's no need for a man to know about it!" he yelped.

She growled at him. "You are the one that pops the baby in there! You should take some responsibility for it you jerk!" she snapped.

Gracia couldn't stop laughing at the two, at least it took her mind off of the pain. "You two fight like a married couple," Gracia said before pain racked her body once again.

"Where the hell is Maes?" Riza snapped.

"He's probably lost in the blizzard, it's getting pretty bad out there," Roy said, pointing to the window. Riza looked at the window then back at him.

"Thank you Mr. Positivism. . . That was a rhetorical question you jack ass."

"Are you sure Gracia is the one in labor?" Roy questioned, earning the millionth glare from Riza since Gracia's water broke.

"I feel the head coming!" she yelped.

"What in the hell does that mean?" Roy questioned stupidly. Then when Riza growled he said, "Never mind. I said that in the heat of abject panic."

"Where's my alcohol?" she asked. Roy looked around and then stood. He walked over to the bar and the strongest they had was Vodka. "Vodka work?" he asked.

"Yes," she stated. He took it and a glass and walked over to where she was kneeling at Gracia's feet.

"I know what the alcohol is for but why do you need a glass with it."

Riza took off the lid and chugged half the contents of the bottle causing Roy to sweat drop, before she set the bottle beside her. "I don't need the glass after all."

"Damn Riza, I thought you were going to use it to sterilize," he said.

"No," she said simply and went about getting to work.

**----------------------**

"The mom and baby are just fine," the doctor said, coming out to a waiting Roy and Maes.

Riza walked out of the room, Vodka bottle in hand. She chugged down the rest and went up the stairs without a word to anyone. "She did an amazing job, all I had to do was cut the cord and take care of the afterbirth. You can go in and see your wife and daughter."

Maes smiled widely and turned to Roy. "We are going to take Gracia to the hospital. The ambulance managed to get here. You two can stay here if you like." Roy nodded. "Take care of Riza!" he added. Roy nodded again as Maes ran into the room where his wife and daughter were, followed by the EMT's. Roy turned and started to walk up the stairs when the doctor grabbed his arm then handed him a bottle. "She's going to need those. I don't know how she's still walking after consuming that much alcohol."

"She has a tolerance to alcohol," Roy said.

"That doesn't mean she won't have a hangover in the morning," the doctor replied, Roy nodded and took the pills.

"Thank you doctor," he said.

"Tell her excellent work and that if she ever wants a job I could use an assistant at my office."

Roy nodded and made his way to the room they were staying in. He heard the people downstairs leave and went inside the room. He walked into the bathroom where Riza was soaking neck deep in a tub of water, her arm over her eyes.

Roy sat on the edge of the tub and grinned, she moved her arm and gazed at him. "I've been through special forces and sniper training. I made it through Ishbal and tend to get shot at about twice a month."

"Yea?" he prompted.

"That was the most terrifying thing I've ever done. I mean, I drank an entire bottle of Vodka."

"Not an entire bottle, there was about a glass worth emptied out of it," he said with a smirk.

She laughed at his joke and leaned her head against the tub. He bent down and brushed his lips across hers. "You never cease to amaze me Riza," he said when he pulled away.

Soon, they both got ready for bed and as they lay there Riza sighed. "Even though that terrified me, it was also the most amazing thing I've ever seen. I must admit that I envy her."

"Envy?"

"That she's had a child," she said, Roy turned on his side facing her.

"Do you want a child?"

Riza nodded. "But it's not possible right now," she said. She looked down at her hand when Roy threaded his fingers through her own. "We are still young. We will have a child someday Riza. I just have a feeling about it."

"You think?" she asked. He nodded. "Hopefully by then I can be a good father that a child will need."

She cuddled up to his chest. "You'd already make a good one Roy," she said before drifting off to sleep. Roy looked down at her and kissed her head. "Someday Riza. I promise."

----------------------

**AN: This was very fun to write. I hope you enjoyed it. **


	26. The Serial Killer Pt 1

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 25: The Serial Killer Pt 1 **

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA **

**AN: Okay, I have a huge thank you at the end notes so please read it after you read the chapter. I have to use these to tell of upcoming events.**

**From here on out while it will go along with the main premise of the anime/manga some events will be changed a bit. This chapter is a slight example of what I mean. I felt like I shouldn't just give you all the exact manga/anime as if they were married because one, I'd get bored writing it, and two, it wouldn't be much of a fanfic. Changes will happen but, nothing as drastic as rewriting the entire plot. LOL You'll see as we go along but please keep that in mind. **

**I hope that is all right with all of you. Much love to all and I hope you enjoy the chapter. **

**Note: Yes Hughes is still going to die (I figured someone would ask me about that when I mentioned changes.) LMAO**

* * *

**The Serial Killer **

"Colonel, wake up," Riza said. "You have a meeting with Edward and he's waiting." She shook him and he groaned. "Tell him I am busy filling out my paperwork."

Riza growled. She didn't mind him napping during his lunch hour but lunch hour was over now and she wasn't going to lie to Ed about Roy's current work.

"The only thing that you are busy doing with that paperwork is drooling on it. Now wake up!" she said, slapping the back of his head. He shot up and frowned, rubbing the place that she struck.

"That wasn't a very nice wake up," he said, half of the sentence being within a yawn.

"You weren't supposed to be sleeping in the first place. Your lunch break ended ten minutes ago."

Roy's stomach growled, indicating that it was indeed true that he'd slept through his lunch break. He sighed and then looked up when he saw Riza smile. "Deal with Edward and I will go to the café down the street and get you something to eat. My break is in five minutes," she said.

Roy grabbed her waist and pulled her close, resting his head against her stomach for only a moment. "You're such a good wife," he said. She quickly pulled away and glared at him.

"Not in the office," she scolded. Roy grinned and watched as she walked out. That grin dropped to a frown when he saw Fullmetal saunter in as if he owned the place. He sat down in the chair in from of Roy's desk, propped his arm on the chair arm, rested his chin in his hand then shot Roy as smart-ass smirk. Roy wanted to get up out of that chair and broil the little shrimp.

Roy leaned back in his chair and opened a file. He skimmed it and then laid it down. "You've been busy. You're stacking up quite a reputation among the people."

"Yeah, and giving military dogs like you a better name among the people." Ed leaned up in his seat. "Just how many stars do you get on your record for the good I've done?"

"I know what is coming."

"It's just I feel like you owe me."

"Hearing you say that makes me nauseous," Roy replied. "What is it that you want?"

"You sure came right to the point," Ed said.

"I just want you out of my office and out of my hair."

"Speaking of hair, I think it's gotten thinner since I last saw you," Ed replied. He wanted to find a way to get under Roy's skin. Just a small additional annoyance would be enough to amuse him for a week.

"What is it you want Edward?" Roy said threateningly. He unconsciously ran a hand through his dark locks. He saw the amusement in Ed's face and pretended he didn't.

"I want to know more about bio-alchemy. I figured that you'd know where I could go around here for more information. Maybe a library or an expert on the matter would be even better."

"You want this information right now?" Roy asked.

"No, I want it when my arm rusts off; of course I want it now!"

Roy stood and walked over to the shelf beside his desk. After searching though the files, he came across just the one that he was looking for. "Here it is," he said aloud, catching Ed's attention.

"You've found someone?" Ed asked.

"Chimera: an artificial fusion created by alchemically marrying two genetically dissimilar life forms."

"So? I know what a chimera is. What of it?"

"There's a chimera researcher in this city," Roy said.

"Wow! Who is it?" Ed questioned.

"His name is Shou Tucker, also known as the Sewing Life Alchemist. He earned his state license certification two years ago when he made a talking chimera."

"What! Are you kidding? A chimera who speaks the human tongue."

"That would be the case. I wasn't in charge here at that time so I've never actually seen it."

"What did it say?"

"It said; 'I want to die'. After that it refused to eat and died not long after that," Roy answered.

"Well, go visit him after Lieutenant Hawkeye gets back. I suggest you go get some lunch in the cafeteria," he said. "Come back here in an hour."

"But. . ."

"I can't leave the office without an office in charge and I will not take away the lunch breaks of my subordinates for something that we can wait an hour for. Now go get so lunch."

"Fine," Ed grumbled and walked out of the room.

Thirty minutes later Riza returned to the office and sat Roy some lunch on his desk. He looked at it then at her.

"This isn't from the café," he said.

"It's from home. I grabbed some lunch from my place," he said.

"YOU made lunch?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, going over to her desk and sitting down to eat her own lunch. The two ate in silence until Roy said, "You are really domestic. You know that?"

Riza chuckled. "It's nice to hear really," she said. "At least I have some feminine qualities. Ninety-nine percent shooting accuracy isn't exactly stats that a woman in society often carries."

"Believe me, there's no doubt about your femininity," he said. "No doubt at all," he muttered as he bit into his sandwich. Thinking about all the ways he knew she was female. He suddenly banished them to the dirtier part of his mind. It wouldn't do for him to get in that type of condition in the office. . . Again. After swallowing his food, he smirked at her. "Besides I think the accuracy thing adds to your domestic ways."

"How so?" she asked.

"You can kill a turkey and fix it too," he replied and took another bite of his sandwich.

Riza chuckled at the comment and the two continued to eat their lunch.

----------------------------------------

An hour later, Ed, Roy and Al were at the gate to the Tucker estate. "This is the place. Now you need to realize that it won't be just the three of you. Tucker has a four year old daughter."

"How about his wife," Al asked.

"Doesn't matter; just be on your best behavior. Of course, you aren't the one that I am talking about Al," Roy said, taking a pot shot of at Ed. Before Ed could say anything, they went through the gate. Roy walked to the door and turned around to find Ed and Al with funny looks on their faces.

"What's the problem?"

"His. . . His . . . House! It's So Big!" Ed exclaimed. Roy sighed, Ed and Al had seen far more astonishing things than a huge house, yet there they were shocked at the enormous residence before them.

Roy rung the bell at the door and Ed heard a rustle. He turned and looked around to see nothing moving in the bushes or along the ground. He turned back to mustang as he rung the doorbell again. Yet again, he heard a rustle.

"Dammit! WHAT IS THAT?" he yelled, getting both Al and Roy's attention.

"What's wrong Ed?" Every time Mustang rings that bell, I hear a rustle. "Ring it again!" he said.

Mustang rung it again and not a noise was heard.

"You must be hearing things brother," Al said.

"Yeah, I guess," Ed said and turned back toward the house. Mustang rung the bell again and Ed yet again heard the rustle. He turned angrily. "THAT'S IT COME OUT OF THERE! I KNOW YOU ARE IN . . ." He trailed off as a large figure jumped from the bushes, its dark shadow looming over him. "There. . ." he squeaked then found himself pinned under a gigantic dog.

The door to the house opened and a little girl and her father came out of the door. "Alexander! Stop that!" the little girl said then smiled at Roy. "Look daddy! Visitors!"

"I told you to keep Alexander tied up," the man said to the little girl. "I will go tie him up right now daddy!" She went over to Alexander and easily guided the dog out to the back of the house.

"I am sorry about that. Please come in," he said.

Roy, Ed and Al entered the house.

"I am sorry for the mess. We lack a woman's touch around here," he said. "Please, sit down."

They sat down in the chairs that were in the living room. "Mr. Tucker, this is Edward Elric," Roy said.

"Nice to meet you Edward. I am Shou Tucker, the one they call the sewing life alchemist."

"Edward here is interested in biological alchemy and I told him you might be willing to show him your research," Roy said.

"Oh, certainly," Shou replied. "But I have a condition," he said.

"That is?" Edward questioned.

"If you want to see what's up my sleeve, first you have to show me what is up yours," he said. "Alchemy is about equivalent exchange and I want to know why you are so interested in biological transmutation," he stated.

Roy started to answer for Ed but didn't know exactly how to state the words. He was relieved to have Ed raise his hand to halt him.

"Colonel," Ed said. He reached up, unsnapped his jacked and took it off, revealing his transmuted arm. "Mr. Tucker is right. Equivalent exchange is required."

"So that's why they call you the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

"Yes," Edward said. Then he proceeded to tell the entire story of how he and Al lost their mother, all their training, and the life altering transgressions after that. Tucker listened to the story with a tinge of pity on his face.

"I see, so you lost your mother. That must have been extremely difficult.""I've told my superiors that he lost his limbs in the war. I must ask you to keep silent about his attempts at human transmutation."

"Of course I will. It wouldn't do for the military to lose such a brilliant individual," he replied. Tucker then stood up. "Let me show you the research room." The group followed Tucker through the dimly lit hallway to a door. He opened the door and flipped on the light. They all walked inside and suddenly Ed felt as if he was in heaven. He'd never seen so many books before in his entire life.

"You can stay with me for as long as you need Edward; feel free to look at any book in here."

Edward moved over to the shelf next to the door. "All right, I'll start with this shelf."

"I'll start from this one over here," Al said, motioning to the one on the wall opposite Ed.

"All right you two. I have to get back to work. I'll send Havoc to get you if I have an assignment for you." Roy stared at Ed who seemed to be enraptured with the book he was holding in his hand. Like all alchemists, Edward was in his own world when reading apparently.

"He has an amazing ability to focus. When he's reading he doesn't even seem to hear the voices around him."

"Aren't we all like that? We wouldn't have been able to pass the exam if we weren't," Roy said. He remembered back when he studied with his sensei. He was so focused that Riza would have to come in and hit him on the back of the head to jar him out of his reading so he could have lunch or dinner. She was the only one that could ever get him to stop reading once he started. Now, he was proud to admit, a slap on the back of the head wasn't how she accomplished that in the present time. . .

---------------------------------

Three days later. . .

"Hey there Ed!" Hughes said as he ran into Ed at the office. Ed had gone to the headquarters to get a file that Mustang said he'd find useful.

"Hey Hughes," Ed said at first then did a double take. Hughes wasn't supposed to be in the east. He was stationed in central. "What in the hell are you doing here?"

"I am here for very important matters. . . Very important indeed. . ."

"Those are?"

Ed nearly yelled in surprise as Hughes thrust several pictures in his face. They were in his hands, and he was holding them as one would hold a hand of cards. "ISN'T SHE THE CUTEST THING YOU'VE EVER SEEN?" he exclaimed. Neither man saw officers around them chuckling at Ed's predicament.

"Hughes," a familiar voice said. Hughes straightened up and he and Ed turned to see Mustang, with Hawkeye standing on his right. "He's struck again."

"Who's struck again?" Ed questioned.

"The real reason Hughes is here. . . There's a serial killer on the loose."

* * *

**Author Notes: Short chapter I know but I have many papers to write for class and also I have betaing duties to perform and art muffins popping from the oven and a huge list of stories to update for. **

**I must say something very important though. . . **

**Thank you all SOOOOO much for your patience and dedication to this story. It's starting to get a bit difficult and I want to get the story the way I want it. Now I must thank you for something else. . . I GOT 37 reviews for the previous chapter. I was thrilled Thank you all so very much! It makes me happy that you like the story so well. That shattered my record for most reviews for a chapter of any of my fics. Thank you for your reviews and please review this one as well. **

**Love to you all. . .**

**MSD**


	27. The Serial Killer Pt 2

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 27: The Serial Killer Pt 2**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA **

**AN: Hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you all for the reviews last chapter. I really appreciate them very much. **

* * *

**The Serial Killer Part 2 **

Roy, Hughes, Riza and Ed got into a car and made their way to the crime scene. "So what's the deal with this serial killer?"

"He's a monster. Only targets women, chops them up leaving only enough to barely keep parts attached. Blood mangled corpses," Maes said.

Ed couldn't say anything in response to that description.

They arrived at the crime scene and got out of the car. They walked to the end of the alley and Riza cringed inwardly.

There was a little boy crying over the covered body of his mom. The sight made her stomach lurch and her heart ache. Roy glanced over to see a sad look on Riza's face. She'd lost her own mom at an early age and from what she'd described she cried on her mom until her dad forcibly dragged her away.

Riza, not waiting for orders of any kind from Roy, walked over to the little boy, crouched beside him and laid her hands on his shoulders. Two soldiers started to move the body a bit but stopped when Riza said to leave it alone for a bit longer. The little boy needed to stay put for a while.

Soon, however it was time for the little child to be taken to it's closest of kin. She lifted the boy up, he had hold of the sheet and would let go. The sheet was pulled off the woman to reveal a horribly chopped up corpse.

Ed's faced turned pale as memories of the thing he and Al had brought back during the human transmutation flashed through his head. He then fainted hitting the ground with a thud.

"Quick pick him up and take him back to the Tucker residence," Maes ordered. A few soldiers picked him up and did as Maes ordered. Roy turned to look at Riza when the little boy screamed. He looked over to see a soldier trying to take the little boy away from Riza. He hand hold of her tightly as if he never wanted to be out of her arms. Riza finally got his hands loose from her uniform and handed him to another female soldier who took him to a car and drove off in the opposite direction that Edward was taken.

She nodded to the other soldiers who promptly wrapped the body back up and picked it up, taking it to the coroners' truck. She walked up to Roy, both of them purposely avoiding eye contact.

"Any leads at all Maes?" Roy said turning to look at him.

"No, there's nothing other than all the murders are the same. You'd think with five murders that there would be some kind of clue to who was committing them. This guy is a pro. He's obviously put a lot of thought into these. He's a sadistic maniac."

Roy nodded and cautiously glanced at Riza who was discussing something with a fellow officer. Though it wasn't the place for him to get jealous he couldn't help it. The officer was clearly looking at her in that interested way even though they were most likely speaking about the events that happened here.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye, we should get back to the office," Roy said. She turned her attention from the officer she was speaking with and looked at him. She saluted him.

"Yes sir!" Riza stated.

"Maes, you can stay at my place tonight. I have a feeling I will be working overtime so I probably won't be there. " Roy lied partially; it was true he would be working overtime but the main reason he wouldn't be home is because he would be next door with Riza. Maes knew it was normal that when Roy worked overtime he slept on the couch in the office and showered in the locker room.

"That's all right Roy; I will just stay in the officer dorms."

Roy tossed him the key to his apartment. "No can do buddy. They are all full. See you later."

"Thanks," Maes said.

Roy and Riza got in the car, she decided to drive, and made their way back to headquarters.

"You don't have to work that much overtime," she said. "You'll probably get home around 9 or 10 at the latest."

"Yes, but I'm staying with you tonight," he said.

"Oh? That's news to me," she said.

"Riza, stop acting like that scene didn't bother you," Roy said.

"What scene would that be sir?" she said, going all military mode on him.

"Riza," he said with a sigh but then said, "Fine, we will wait until tonight to talk about it."

"There's nothing to talk about," she stated as she pulled into the parking garage of headquarters. She got out of the car before Roy could respond. He decided to leave it be for now. She would tell him how she felt when they were alone and in private.

-------------------------------

Sure enough, Roy got off around 9pm and he and Riza made their way to her apartment. Roy noted the lights were on in his which meant Hughes was most likely there already.

Riza opened the door to her place and they both went inside. First thing they did was go straight to the bedroom to change out of the hot uniforms. Even though the rain had started outside it did little to cool the environment. The night had gotten horribly muggy and the raincoats that they were required to wear over their uniforms hadn't helped matters.

Riza opted to slip on a long, old baggy t-shirt of Roy's while he decided to just go around in pajama bottoms and a wife-beater.

After dressing Riza turned to him.

"What do you want for dinner?" she asked. He pulled her to him and hugged her.

"Talk," he replied.

"Talk? Never heard of that," she said. "How about chicken and rice?" She said, walking away and going into the kitchen. He growled then followed her.

"Riza," he said.

"Roy," she replied, obviously to be annoying.

"You are being difficult," he said.

"Roy," she said, stopping to stand in the middle of the kitchen. Her voice had taken on a very serious tone.

"Yes?" he asked. "You all right?"

"You know how there are things about your past and about Ishbal that you don't want to talk about?"

"Yes," he answered.

She turned and took a small step toward him. She looked into his eyes and smiled softly. "I've always respected that as well, haven't I?" she questioned.

"Yes, always."

"Now I am asking you to not ask me to talk about this. I don't want to talk about it. Maybe someday I can but for now could we just leave it be?"

Roy was stunned at her request but then smiled and nodded.

"All right," he said. "I understand; I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for. I just thank you for understanding."

She kissed Roy softly then pulled away.

"Want to help with dinner?" she asked.

"Gasp, you are actually going to let me near sharp objects? Roy joked, trying to bring some lightheartedness into the previous serious atmosphere.

Riza laughed. "As long as you have adult supervision I don't think it will hurt," she joked back. Roy gave her a peck on the lips and they started working on dinner.

---------------------------------------

Two hours later both were lying in bed. Riza was sleeping, her head lying on Roy's chest, and her arm draped across his stomach. Roy however was staring up at the ceiling. He was thinking about what Riza asked him tonight. She didn't want to talk about what happened in the alley with the boy. He knew it affected her and it worried him greatly, he also came to the realization that the stuff he kept from her probably worried her as well.

There was no getting around it though. Roy understood why she wanted to keep those feelings to herself because he had reasons as to why he wouldn't speak of a few things with her. That was an aspect of their marriage. Respect for personal thoughts and feelings. That was one of the many things that they understood about each other and one of the many things that made them such a wonderful couple, if he did say so himself.

----------------

The phone rung in Riza's apartment at around 6 am. Roy shook Riza and she groggily reached over him and answered it. He was startled when her eyes widen uncharacteristically. "I see," she said.

"Tell me what you think he should know. He should be at a friend's house." Riza stated. "I'll go pick him up Hughes and tell him."

Roy watched as Riza paled slightly and muttered something about a sick motherfucker. "You go on ahead," Riza said finally. "Like I said, I'll pick him up."

"Right," Roy heard Maes say at the other end of the line. Riza hung up and looked at Roy.

"What is it?"

"Ed found Tucker's chimera," Riza said and shuttered slightly.

"So?" Roy said.

"Tucker used his dog and daughter to make it," Riza said, sitting up instead of leaning against Roy.

Roy then sat up himself. "He did what!" Roy exclaimed. Sadly, he shouldn't have been shocked over the matter. In his career he was bound to come across anything.

"Not only that, but his wife that supposedly left him," she started, hesitating to go on due to feelings she had on these matters.

"Yes, what about her," Roy asked, having a feeling he knew where Riza was going with the conversation.

"She was the one that was used for the very first talking chimera that he made. Apparently, when he found out his recertification was coming up he used his daughter this time. Ed found out when he went downstairs to say goodbye to Tucker and his daughter. He nearly beat the crap out of Tucker before Alphonse stopped him."

Roy growled and got out of bed. "Let's go," he said grabbing a uniform from the closet and getting dress. Riza nodded and did the same. Soon they found themselves in the car driving to the house where they were holding tucker and the chimera.

They got out of the car and went inside, meeting Hughes in the downstairs lobby. He was looking out the window. Riza knew he must have been having a hard time with this case because it was a little girl involved with it and Hughes had a little girl of his own.

"Is Tucker the one that is responsible for cutting all those women up?" Roy asked first thing when he came in. He hadn't wanted to get straight to business but military conduct had called for it.

"We don't know," Hughes said and turned to them.

Roy sighed and they walked up to the room to question Tucker. Riza stayed at the door and withheld a jump as the chimera turned its head toward her. Slowly it walked over to her and rubbed its head under her hand.

"It hurts," it said softly.

Riza gazed down at the pitiful creature and kneeled down to rub its head gently.

She had to admit that she had a lot in common with this chimera. Both of them were daughters of men who were obsessed with alchemy. Daughters of men obsessed with the research so much that their needs for science outweighed any needs that their daughters might have had for fathers, for a loving family. Both of them were used for their father's alchemic research.

"Lieutenant, you ready to leave?" Roy asked. She looked up to see him looking at her. His face taking on a stern look but she could tell that in his eyes he was worried, for both business and her. She patted the chimera one last time before standing up straight. The chimera then walked over to her father and sat down in front of him.

"Loyal until the end," Riza muttered.

"What was that?" Roy asked as he opened the door for her.

"Loyal," she said, walking through the door, Roy following. He was confused as they went to the car, Riza sliding in the driver's side.

"Where are we heading sir?"

"Headquarters," he said. "Edward should be there."

"Right," she said and took the street that headed there.

Roy started to ask Riza what she meant exactly about loyal but she spoke before he was given the chance.

"If there was ever truly the work of a devil, that was it," she said.

"Devil?" Roy laughed bitterly. "All stated alchemists are nothing but human weapons Riza," he said. "We do what they want, we obey orders, we don't complain. That's the way it goes. Our hands are dirtied for the institution of Amestris. My point being that when it comes to messing with human lives, Tuckers actions aren't so different from any state alchemist. It's not that different from anyone who was at Ishbal. We all messed with human lives there.

Riza nodded slightly. She remembered the pain that she felt when her father had put that tattoo on her. She felt betrayed, yet excited that she was getting the attention that she'd craved from him. For a moment, she felt like she was the most important thing to him, that he needed her around for more than just cooking or cleaning. It was different from Ishbal. In Ishbal, though it was horrible to put it mildly, they weren't messing with the lives of their own family. They weren't marking their family with a burden to car the rest of their lives. They weren't left with a pain to struggle with for many years to come.

"You are using the logic of an adult sir," Riza said as she pulled into the garage of headquarters. "Even though Edward acts older than his years, he is still a child." They walked through headquarters and asked a soldier if he'd seen the Fullmetal Alchemist. The soldier directed them outside to the front steps.

Roy and Riza walked though the halls toward the front and out the door. They spotted Edward and Alphonse sitting in the rain. Edward was soaked to the bone. His coat and his shirt clinging to him like a second skin. His bangs were plastered to his face and even though the air was warm, he was shivering ever so slightly due to the cool rain hitting him.

"Yes but the path that he's chosen will lead to much more difficult adverse situations than what he's faced today. He has to move forward, even if that means to force himself to forget or to understand the ways of life."

Roy took a step down beside Edward. "Isn't that right Fullmetal," Roy questioned, knowing the younger alchemist heard his last statement. "How long are you going to stay depressed?" Roy asked.

"What don't you just shut up?" Ed questioned.

"Even thought people call you different names, mostly insults; it was you who chose to keep studying alchemy. You chose to join the military when you could have lived your lives with the bodies you have now. You are going to be lumped in that same category with Tucker even though you are nothing like the maniac that he is. We are all state alchemists, some good some bad but the public views us all depending on what one does, usually the bad one. Yet, can you afford to let his hold you back? Can you?"

"We aren't devils and we sure as hell are not gods," Edward said, he stood up violently "We're humans and we can't even save even one little girl!" he growled. "We are just pathetic humans that something enjoys toying with!"

"Go home Ed and rest," Roy said, continuing to walk down the steps and taking a concrete path to an adjoining building where his office was. "Couldn't have you catching cold. I have a job for you tomorrow afternoon."

"Edward, Alphonse," Riza said. They turned to her and Ed smiled slightly. "Let me fix you some tea and soup," she said.

Edward looked at her with surprise. He could see a kind of pain in her eyes. A sympathetic pain and hurt in them. Something about today's events had hit Riza closer than what he knew she would be willing to speak about.

Ed nodded and he and Alphonse walked with her to the dorms that were for state alchemists.

"Thank you Lieutenant," Ed said.

"You can call me Riza when we aren't in a working environment," she stated.

"Thanks, Riza."

* * *

**AN: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Please drop me a review and tell me what you think. **


	28. Instincts and Stress

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 28: Instincts and Stress **

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA **

**AN: Long wait, I know. This story is very difficult to write because I review both anime and manga and try to make a unique mix at the same time I have to think of how a specific scene will change this scene in the future and how I can't do this with this because of this. Hope that makes sense. I figured I'd tell you guys why it takes so long for me to get chapters out. (Other than life situations and writers block for the story. **

**I have to thank you all for being patient. I hope you are enjoying the story and thank all of you so much for the support in reviewing, favoring and alerting this story.**

* * *

**Instincts and Stress  
**

Riza, Ed, and Al walk to the mess area and into the small kitchen in the back. The kitchen staff always left out things for the troops overnight so there was plenty of food that Riza could prepare.

"Sit down boys, I'll fix you something?" She took down two bowls and three coffee mugs from the cabinet.

"Miss Hawkeye, I can't eat anything," Alphonse said, noticing the mugs and bowls. She turned and looked at him. She found herself surprised for a split second. She'd forgotten that the boy was just a soul in a suit of armor and not a flesh and blood human.

"Right," she said softly and puts up one of the bowls.

"You need help?" Ed questioned, starting to stand up.

"No, you just sit down and relax. Chicken soup all right?"

"Yeah, thank you lieu. . . Riza."

"You're welcome Edward," she said.

"Just Ed is good."

She smiled and continued to cook. Ed couldn't help but watch her. He'd had a little crush on her at first but now, seeing this side of the Lieutenant it seemed more like she was a mother. She'd reminded him so much of his own mother. He looked over at all who also had his head turned toward the Lieutenant and watching her.

Riza poured the soup in the bowl and took it over to Edward along with some bread, then went about making tea for her and Edward. She sat the tea down beside Ed and took a seat across from Al. Ed ate quietly, much to his brother's surprise as Riza sipped her tea. After he finished he put the spoon down and look down at the bowl.

"Can I ask you a question?" Ed asked. She looked at him surprised at the timid way Ed spoke.

"Yes, of course," she said.

"It's a bit personal," he said.

"I'll answer it if I can," she replied.

"How do you and the Colonel do it?" he asked. Riza blinked at Ed as he continued. "How do you and the Colonel deal with things like this?"

She stood and took his bowl over to the sink and began to wash it. The kitchen was silent of conversation as Riza cleaned out the bowl, the water pounding roughly against the steel sink. When she turned off the water and dried the bowl she spoke.

"I can't speak for the Colonel Ed," she replied. "As for me. . . I don't know."

Ed looked at her confusingly as she took a seat back at the table. "You don't know? How could you not know?"

Riza chuckled lightly. "I really don't know the answer to that either. It just happens and I deal with it. I suppose being in the military and being through what I have I've learned to steel my emotions of the horrible things that I've seen."

She wasn't telling the truth exactly. Every night when she was showering and a day like today happened she would cry under the downpour of water, her tears undetectable. She couldn't well tell Ed that. "Since you are both male maybe you could talk to Mustang about. . ."

"I don't want to talk to that bastard about anything," Edward interrupted.

"Ed. . . The colonel . . . he's. . ."

"A bastard. . ."

"Brother!" Alphonse scolded. Riza smiled over at the younger brother.

"It's all right Alphonse. Colonel Mustang can be a bastard at times. Tonight was a classic case of that."

She looked at Ed. "If you tell him that I will shoot you," she said with a small grin.

"Your secret is safe with me," he said. The kitchen stayed silent for quite a bit until Ed said, "Nina didn't deserve something like that. How can fathers be so cruel to their kids? I don't like fathers. The world would be better without them."

"Tucker wasn't a father as far as I am concerned," Riza said.

"What do you mean?"

"It takes a male to create a child." Riza said. "But a father loves and cares for their children and would never hurt them in any way. He wasn't a father,"

Ed nodded. Her words made so much sense. He never had a father, just a man who gave half his genetics to him. He'd noticed the tone that Riza had used in speaking to him about that and wondered if she had a similar situation. It wasn't his business so he chose not to inquire about her empty and slightly hostile tone.

Riza stood and took the two mugs back to the sink, washed and dried them, then put them back where she got them.

"Why don't you two go get some rest? You heard that the colonel had a job for you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Ed replied with an awkward looking smile. He turned to Al, "let's go Al."

"Right," he said, "Good night Miss Hawkeye."

Riza smiled at the term of respect Alphonse gave her and said goodnight before watching them leave through the door. She stood there and thought about what she'd said to Edward and Alphonse. She realized that she'd let go what she really thought about her father in the conversation with the two of them. Of course, a part of her loved her father but another part hated him. She hated him for placing this burden upon her, the mark that would always reside with her. She couldn't hate him entirely for it at the same time because it tied her to the person that she loved most in this world. She turned off the light to the kitchen and made her way to Roy's office.

She wasn't expecting to find a cynical Roy waiting for her there. She looked up when she saw him leaning against the window frame. Apparently he knew right when she entered the room because she was greeted with a hostile comment.

"I didn't think you were capable of such a stupid move. Your brain isn't working today?"

Riza narrowed her eyes at him. "Just exactly what do you mean by that sir?"

"You are babying them. They are going to have to learn how to deal with things like this if they want to grow up."

"If letting a young man vent, to ask questions and let feelings out is stupid then yea I guess I did baby them," she snapped.

"Damn it Lieutenant. They don't need a mother; they need to learn to stand on their own two feet."

"They need to know that someone is there for them to talk to. They are young sir, they are growing, learning, experiencing things but they have to share those experiences with people who have had them before."

"What if someday they are alone huh? What then? Lieutenant, from now on I don't want you taking out your maternal desires on those boys."

That stung Riza to the point she felt like crying. He knew how much she really wanted children but in their current positions, they couldn't have them. Hell, she would probably never be a mother. She pushed the hurt down and retorted.

"Maternal desires? What in the hell are you talking about?"

"Just because you don't have children doesn't mean. . ."

"Don't continue with that sentence sir unless you want shot," she growled. He was crossing the line bit by bit. She didn't know how he changed so much in such a short matter of time.

"Who's the commanding officer here? Sometimes I wonder," Roy said.

Riza shut the door and walked over to him. "Permission to act freely sir," she said.

"Permission granted," he said.

A slap resounded throughout the room. Roy righted his jaw at the force of the slap. "How . . . What in the hell is wrong with you?"

Roy shook his head and sat down in his chair. He fisted his hands in his hair and rested back in his chair. "I . . . I'm sorry. It's the stress of everything. I just feel like those boys need to toughen up and what you did isn't going to do it. I am sorry for the comment about calling what you did stupid."

"Just the stupid one?" she questioned.

Roy stopped moving his fingers in his hair when he realized what else he said. He'd crossed a sore line with Riza. He removed his hand and looked at her. The maternal comment was out of line. "I'm sorry for that too. Damn it, these events have gotten to me." Riza walked over to the window and closed the blinds, bathing the room in darkness.

"You are just stressed out at all the events happening," she said as she walked over to him and started to massage his shoulders.

"Thank you for the slap," he said.

"My pleasure, I've wanted to do that for a while," she joked.

"Funny," he said then moaned as she hit a specifically tense spot on his shoulder. Roy sat up and took off his coat then leaned back again. He groaned again as Riza continued to rub the tense spots.

"If you don't be a bit quieter then if the staff comes in they are going to think we are having sex in here."

Roy spun in his chair and smiled wickedly at her.

"No," she said. "No way in hell."

"Office sex? Come on, you know that . . ."

"No Roy Mustang," she said.

Roy pulled her onto his lap. "Come on, the rest of the staff isn't going to be here for another hour."

"No," she said as he lowered his lips to her chin, nipping at the skin there with his teeth.

"Please," he said and kissed up the side of her face to nibble on her ear lobe. "Come on," he said. "I could take you right there on my desk. Don't say for a moment that isn't appealing."

"Oh, it's appealing all right but the answer is still no."

Roy frowned and sighed. "Fine, take away a guy's fantasies."

Riza laughed and took his hand. "We don't have to be here until 10am. Let's go back home and get some breakfast."

"Fine," he said and stood up. He slipped on his overcoat and the two walked out into the rain toward their apartments.

* * *

**The Next Day. . .**

* * *

"Hey, Lieutenant!" Ed called as he spotted Riza coming out of Mustang's office.

She stopped when she heard her rank called. Turning around, she saw Edward walking toward her.

"Hello Edward, what are you doing here so early?"

"The colonel said he had a job for me. I wanted to get at it early and I had a question. Maybe you might be able to answer it though. I'd rather talk to you than him."

"What is it?" she questioned, a small smile gracing her lips.

"What is going to happen to Tucker and Nina?" he asked.

Riza's small smile vanished. "Tucker was scheduled to have his license revoked and then he was supposed to be taken to central by investigations for a trial."

"Was? What do you mean was?" Ed said with dread.

"They're dead or to put it more accurately they were killed," she said honestly.

"What! Why didn't the Colonel call us?"

"Well, he said it wasn't your concern and he didn't think you needed to know about it. You guys would have found out eventually so I might as well tell you now."

"What . . . Who killed them?"

"I don't know who killed them. I am on my way there right now," she said, slipping on the coat that she'd been holding in her arms. She began walking as Edward followed her.

"I want to come as well," he said.

"That's not a good idea Edward," she said.

"Why the hell not?"

She stopped in her place, turned, and gave a look that froze Ed in his tracks. "Its better you not see this unless you absolutely have to."

"You know Colonel Mustang; we wanted to take him alive. How are we supposed to put a corpse on trial?" Hughes said. He Roy and Armstrong were at the house where the military had been holding tucker. A sheet was covering the corpses but the blood was splattered around the room and still hadn't been cleaned up. "We hadn't planned on doing an autopsy instead."

Roy gritted his teeth out of frustration and out of the fact Hughes wouldn't let his distasteful prodding rest. He ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes. "Hughes, we have no need to hear about our mistake so much. Why don't you just take a look at the corpses?"

Hughes nodded and bent down to lift the sheet that was covering the exploded bodies. "This isn't good. . ." Hughes said.

"Yes, I am aware of that fact Lieutenant Colonel," Roy said.

"This one isn't cut up," he said, putting the sheet back down and wiping his hands on a towel that was handed to him.

"Which means we have not one but two killers running around this place," Roy said.

Hughes nodded.

"Great, that's just what I need. . ." Roy said.

"Are you all right sir?" Riza questioned. She looked over at him for a moment before returning her gaze back to the road, paying a hundred percent attention to her driving.

"Yes, I am doing swimmingly, just fine, hunky dory," Roy said.

"The sarcasm wasn't necessary sir," she said.

"Neither was the question," he snapped then sighed. He'd been really hostile to Riza as of late. Last night at the apartment he'd snapped at her several times. Yet she was still there as always, taking the majority of shit that he dealt out.

"Sorry," he said.

Riza nodded and kept her focus on the road. She knew it was the pressure talking so she didn't pay much mind to his words. "I am stressed Riza, really stressed and in desperate need of a strong drink."

Riza nodded again and turned the corner. "That's not the way to headquarters Riza," he said.

"I am aware of that," she replied. "You don't have any paperwork left at the office and it's almost quitting time so I am driving home."

"What do you mean no more paperwork? Riza I have stacks of it on my desk."

"No you don't sir," she said. "I did it all this morning," she said. "All it requires now is your signature which won't take ten minutes and can be done in the morning."

"You. . .you did all of that paperwork and your own?"

"Yes sir," she said.

Now Roy really felt like a bastard for the way he spoke to her for the past few days. "Thank you," he said.

Riza nodded as she pulled into a parking space on the street in front of the apartment building. Locking the doors, the two made their way up to their places. Riza opened her apartment door and went inside. She took Roy's hand and pulled him in with her. He took off his coat and laid it in a chair. Then made his way to where Riza kept the whiskey. Riza shook her head in frustration and hung up his jacket before taking her own off and handing it up as well. She walked over to him as he took a shot of whisky. She wouldn't stop him from doing so since she knew it calmed his nerves somewhat.

He grabbed the bottle and glass and went to sit down on the couch. Riza shook her head and went into the kitchen to make herself some coffee. After completed that task she walked into the living room and was surprised to see that Roy hadn't drank much of the whiskey. She went to sit on the couch when she felt a hand grab her wrist. She turned to stare into the eyes of her husband.

"Yes?"

"Come sit here," he said, pulling her onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and held her against him. She took a few sips of her coffee and sat it down on the table. She moved closer and lifted the bangs out of his face.

"You should get some rest. It will do you a world of good."

"I'm sorry about the way I've been acting lately," he said.

She brought her hand down from his face, his bangs falling back in front of his eyes. "It's all right," she said, bringing her lips to his for a quick kiss.

"No it isn't. I shouldn't take out all my stress on. . ." he was cut off when she kissed him again. This time it was slow and sensual. She pulled away only slightly before softly brushing his lips again. He felt her move to straddle his lap as her lips met his repeatedly, the kiss increasing in passion. After a while, the two had to pull apart to catch their breath.

"You know, whiskey is a good stress reliever but I know a better one," he said.

Riza smiled softly as she stood and pulled her shirt over her head, revealing a black silk bra. His eyes lingered on how it contrasted beautifully with her skin and how it shaped her breasts. Roy stood and took off his shirt as well before walking over to her and moving one hand to her right breast while the other arm wrapped around her waist. She bent back giving him access to her neck. He grinned and brought his lips down to it, kissing down the length, licking her collarbone down to the top of her breasts.

Riza groaned lowly and Roy smirked. Unfortunately, the ringing of a phone interrupted them. "Damn it to hell!" Riza laughed and pulled out of his grasp to go answer the phone. Roy followed her over and stood behind her, kissing the scar on her back and wrapping his arms around her.

"Yes, all right I will pick him up sir and meet you there in an hour," Riza said.

"Doesn't the man ever go home?" Roy heard Maes say over the phone.

"No sir apparently not. See you soon," she said and hung up.

"What now?" Roy groaned as he rested his forehead against her shoulder.

"Emergency meeting with Hakuro in an hour," she said.

"Man, that's the last thing I need. That pompous windbag." Riza chuckled and turned in his arms and kissed her. "We were starting to have fun too. I was starting to relax."

"I know," she said. Despite the fact that it took him twice as long to do paperwork as the average officer he wasn't lazy. He was just the type that liked to be out and about working. Lately he had tons of paperwork on top of field missions.

"I suppose we could relax when we get back," he said in a questioning tone. He asked it almost as if she would refuse him.

Riza smiled, nodded and was greeted with a beautiful but tired looking smile from Roy. "Then lets get going," he said.

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**AN: Sorry about the bit boring chapter but the parts of the manga I took were a bit boring too. LOL Hope you enjoyed it anyway and please drop a review. **

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	29. Pulling Rank

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 29: Pulling Rank  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA **

**AN: 2009: Had to cut the lemon. If you go to my profile you can find the link to the blog with the uncut version of this story.  
**

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**Pulling Rank **_**  
**_

"Pompous windbag. That fucker General Hellcureo acts like we can magically pull the serial killers out of our asses," Roy muttered as he and Riza walked down the hall toward the office.

Riza tried to hide her grin at his complaining and the name he called the general. Normally he calmly took Hakuro's shit but this time the shit interrupted his favorite hobby . . . sex. Whenever that was interrupted, Roy was a grumpy, angry with the world man. That and the rest of the stress on him were doing the situations little good. They had a department audit coming up and enough paperwork to fill up a closet on top of the serial killers and General Hakuro's posturing.

"You know what? I would love to tell him to take all this work and shove it up his lazy ass," Roy said.

"Sir, you'd better be careful what you say. Someone could report you for insubordination." "No one is here in this department yet Riza. You could have even stayed in bed," he said.

"I wasn't in bed," she replied.

"You know what I mean," he said. "What do you need from the office anyway? I want to go home as soon as possible," he stated. He wanted to make love to her. That was the best way to relieve him and her of the stresses of the job. By god, he was really going to make her shriek when he got her in bed. Perverted thoughts took over his mind and a perverted smirked appeared on his lips.

Riza didn't respond as they walked into the dark office. The blinds over the windows were shut blocking off almost all of the possible outdoor light. He could just barely make out silhouettes of the furnisher in the moonlight.

Riza grinned and then shut and locked the door behind her. It was time to take Roy's stress relief in her own hands, so to speak.

"Riza you shouldn't have. . ." Roy trailed off when he felt her pressed up against his back and her hands sliding down to the buckle of his belt, loosening it and taking it off. Her lips brushed against his ear as she whispered words that got him extremely excited.

"Still interested in that office sex?" He felt her hands leave his body and heard the belt drop to the floor. She circled in front of him her hands touching him ever so often on the journey to face him. Her hands moved up to his chest and slowly undid his jacket, which he promptly discarded. His hand went up to help her undo hers when she swatted them away.

"No touching," she said and took a step closer. She barely brushed his lips with hers, and it was damn near the most erotic thing Roy had ever experienced. Then again, this entire experience was proving to be extremely erotic. She moved closer, unbuttoned his shirt, and he shrugged it off.

"How long have you been plan. . ." She placed a finger on his lips to silence him and then resumed her work at undressing him. She pulled his undershirt out from where it was tucked in his pants and he quickly rid himself of it. She grabbed his hand and led him over to the couch.

"Take off the rest of your clothes," she said.

Roy smirked. This was getting beyond what he could ever imagine Riza would do to seduce him, not that he needed much in the way of seducing. Excited, horny, shocked; there weren't enough adjectives in the dictionary that could be used to describe what he was feeling. All he knew was that it would be a relief to rid himself of his now brutally tight boxers and pants; however, he couldn't resist teasing her as well.

"Are you ordering a superior officer to. . ."

"Yes I am," she said, effectively cutting off his question.

He grinned and quickly rid himself of his clothing. She walked close to him, still fully clothed and pushed him back on the couch.

"Enjoy the show," she said. "If you move from your seat it will come to an abrupt end." He could hear the amusement that laced her voice along with the sensual tone in which she spoke.

He stared at her silhouette which was made unfeminine by the shapeless blue uniform she wore. That soon changed as she rid herself of her jacket. The brown shirt that she wore under it was tight against her body so now the silhouette of her upper curves was very visible.

He heard her kick off her boots and watched as she walked over to the window. She was back lighted by the glow of the moon and street lamps through the thin strips of the blinds. He couldn't make out any specific features, just her Roy's mouth went dry as he watched his wife put on this little show for him. He was thanking every god that could possibly be in existence that he had her. He wanted to rush to her, strip her of every piece of clothing she wore and make love to her. However, he instantly remembered her warning about an abrupt end and managed to restrain himself. There's no way he could take such an outcome as that.

His gaze never left her body as she removed her blouse from her pants and pulled it over her head. It was so graceful and seductive that he had to grip the handles of the chair to restrain himself. He never thought it would be so difficult to keep his hands to himself.

He took a deep breath as she rid herself of the rest of her clothing and made her way over to him.

**(-)**

Riza turned on the lamp beside his desk, which miraculously hadn't been turned over during their tryst, and was greeted with a smile from Roy. His arms found their way around her body and he kissed her. When he pulled away, she grinned and slicked his hair back so she could kiss his forehead.

"Let's get dressed and get home," she said and hopped down from her seat on the desk.

"Why did you do that?" he questioned as they dressed. He finished first seeing as he had a bit less clothing to wear.

Riza slipped on her jacket and smiled brightly at the man before her. It was that special loving smile that she only showed him. She walked over to him and fixed his collar before kissing him on the lips quickly.

"It relieved the stress didn't it?"

"Why the office though?"

"Two for one," she answered as she turned off the lamp.

"Two for one?" he repeated in a questioning tone, obviously confused.

"You've always fantasized about sex in the office and you were stressed. I relieved both," she answered and turned to look at him. "But the office thing was a one time deal." She then walked out of the room.

Roy smirked. Riza was always taking care of him. Whether it be matters of their professions or more personal matters. He would have to find out what her fantasy was and repay her back for every bit as good as she gave.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Why does it seem like every waking moment of my life I am working?" he questioned. She looked up from her papers and her eyebrow twitched. Roy was standing beside the window and looking out at the courtyard.

"It's all part of the denial in your head sir," she replied and went back to her paperwork. Sure Roy was overworked but she gave him a great stress relief at the office, when they got home, and in the shower before work. In addition, everyone else was overworked and they were still functioning normally, well, as normally as their little team could possibly be.

"Denial?" Roy said, turning to look at her. "Just what do you mean by that?"

"Just do your paperwork," she said. "It's due at noon."

Roy glanced at the clock. "No sweat, it's only 11am. I can handle this pile in thirty minutes," he said, placing his hand on a pile of forms about a quarter of an inch thick.

She looked up and couldn't help but let a small chuckle escape her. "Those aren't the ones due." She pointed to a foot tall stack of file folders that rested on the table beside his desk. "Those are the ones due."

Roy's face dropped and he rushed to his seat. Scooting over to the folders, he began to frantically read and sign each one.

"Why in the hell didn't people give these to me sooner? Why do they expect me to get these done at the last minute?"

"Sir, they've been sitting there for a week and a half."

Roy paused and looked at her. He blinked three times before saying a simple, "Oh" before going back to working on them.

Riza picked up her coffee mug then went to get his off his desk. "I'll get us some more coffee. Don't forget you have a meeting with Edward at two."

Roy looked up. "I do?"

"Havoc was supposed to tell you that Ed wanted to request something. He even went as far as to make a formal appointment."

"Is that supposed to impress me?" he questioned.

"I suppose so," she answered.

"Wonder what he wants?" Roy questioned and raised his hand to his chin in a thinking position.

"I don't know but I am sure the main office wants those papers," she said.

"Okay, okay I'm doing them," he said and started frantically signing them again.

"Bet I never cease to amaze you do I Lieutenant?" he said. "All those papers completed in an hour." Roy was currently leaning back in his chair with a proud look on his face. He'd finished just in time and Furey and Havoc rushed them to the proper office.

"How many did you actually read?" she said.

"Um. . . One. . . Half of . . . One."

Riza sighed. "It would have only amazed me had you read them."

"You are so hard to please," he fake huffed, sitting up straight and picking up a pencil to twirl it between his fingers. Riza hid a small grin behind her file folder. There was suddenly a knock on the door. Riza put her folder down Riza glanced at the clock.

"That should be Edward."

Roy sighed. "All right, let the pip squeak in," he said.

"Sir," she scolded with a sigh. She decided not to speak more. She stood, walked over to the door and opened it.

"Good afternoon Lieutenant," Ed said half-heartedly. The poor boy looked exhausted.

Riza smiled ever so slightly. "Good afternoon," she replied, "Come in."

Ed walked into the room and Riza started to leave as per protocol when Ed said, "You don't have to leave Lieutenant."

She started to tell him that it was protocol when Roy said, "You can stay and continue your work as long Fullmetal doesn't mind and he's made it clear that he doesn't."

"Yes sir," she said, closing the door and making her way back to her desk. She continued doing her work just as she usually did.

"What can I do for you Fullmetal?" He questioned.

"I want to be part of the investigation of Nina's death," he said, deliberately leaving out Shou Tucker from his sentence. He didn't care about the death of that monster in the slightest.

Both Riza and Roy were shocked at the request but didn't show it. Riza didn't even look up from her work.

"No can do kid," Roy stated.

"But I could really be a help in this," he said.

"And the assignment I asked you to do? Have you completed that?"

"You wanted me to research that maniac's notes and experiments!"

"Those notes will come in very handy for the military," Roy stated.

"But. . . I can't. . ."

"You took the test, joined the military. Did you think you would be able to do whatever the hell you wanted when you got in? You have duties."

"Those duties suck," Ed replied.

"Do you think you are the only damn person that has ever been given orders that they don't like!" He questioned, raising his voice to just under the volume that would be considered yelling.

"Fine, then I'll investigate Nina's death on my own."

"You do that but you will be leaving that here," Roy said, motioning to his pocket watch.

Edward clipped it off and sat it on his desk. "I intended to," he replied and left the room. It stayed quite but for a moment before Roy spoke in a sarcastic tone.

"That went well."

"Extremely," Riza replied, the sarcasm evident in her tone as well.

Roy took the watch and put it in his drawer. "I give it two days max and he'll be back."

Riza stood up and gathered the papers, first the ones on her desk then the ones on his. "I am going to take these over to the legal department."

"I could do it," he said, standing. He was anxious to get out of the office on such a beautiful day.

"Those papers over there are due in an hour," she said.

"What is up with all the due dates?" he questioned, flopping down in his seat. "It puts me in such a rush."

"Maybe if you weren't the king of procrastination then you would have to rush so much," she said and walked away.

"Got your paperwork ready?" Riza asked Havoc, Fuery, and Breda when she walked into the outer office.

"Yea," Havoc said as he handed her the work.

"Where's Breda and Fuery?" she questioned.

"Personnel office," Havoc answered. "They had to have their military tag numbers updated."

"I see," she said and left the office, making her way to the legal department. She walked outside and took a deep breath of the air. The air in the East was so much fresher than that of Central so she always took time to stop and take it all in. She looked at the clock on the clock tower that extended above all the other buildings, and then hurried along to her destination.

It didn't take long to distribute the paperwork to the proper people and as she was making her way back to the office she heard a familiar voice call her. She turned to see Alphonse standing in the shadow of a large pillar. She smiled and turned to him.

"Hello there Alphonse. Where's Edward?"

"He stormed off. I tried to talk to him but he wouldn't listen."

"I see," she said. "I am sorry for that."

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Have you ever heard of the philosopher's stone?"

"Everyone has heard that legend Alphonse."

"No, I mean, I know but I want to know if you've heard anything significant concerning it."

"I can't say I have. Most of the things I've heard are legends that couldn't possibly be true but if I were you I would find a new hobby to pursue."

"Why do you say that?"

"It's been said that bad things have a way of happening to those who seek the philosopher's stone."

"I see," he said. "So there's no way to find out besides rumors I guess."

Riza bit her lip then sighed. "National Library," she stated simply.

"Pardon?"

"There should be something in the national library."

"Right! Thank you Lieutenant!" he said and ran off. Riza sighed again.

"You are supposed to be in the office," she said. Roy chuckled and walked out from behind the pillar where he was standing.

"You surprise me," he said. "Telling him about those things."

"I only spoke the truth," she said.

"No, I mean I am surprised with your knowledge about those stupid legends. I thought you were above all that."

"There are still a lot of things that you don't know that I know," she said.

"Oh really?" he said, walking toward her. "What else then?"

"Ducks," she said.

"Ducks?"

"You think ducks are cute and you like to watch them," she stated and walked away from him. "You even own a rubber duck."

Roy's eyes widened. He never told anyone that and he kept that rubber duck hidden well. "How did you know that?" he said aloud but she was already gone. Roy laughed aloud. Riza always was extremely good at reading people and observing the world around her. He stuck his hands in his pockets and whistled as he made his way to the cafeteria to get some lunch.

As soon as he walked into the lunch room his eyes glued to Maes Hughes, and what person's wouldn't? He was jumping around to several people showing off pictures and screeching on how cute his daughter was. He then saw the man walk over to Ed who was flipping through a book. He saw that Hughes was annoying the crap out of him and smiled. It was the perfect chance for Roy to grab a bite without being annoyed by Maes. He walked over, got food to go for him and Riza, then left. He made a mental note to find out what book Edward was studying so carefully.

An hour later Maes was walking down the hall carrying the book Ed was looking at earlier when someone grabbed it. He turned to see Roy and Riza standing there.

"Serial killers huh?" Roy said. It was clear that he was slightly angered. He closed the book and threw it back at Maes. "I clearly ordered Fullmetal not to get involved and you are sharing information with him!" Roy snapped. Both Maes and Riza were surprised at the volume of his voice. "Top secret to beat all. Do you realize the trouble you can get yourself and me into for this!"

Maes didn't answer. He was still in shock.

"Answer me Lieutenant Colonel!" he snapped.

"Sir. . ."

"Quite Lieutenant," he said shooting her a look. Riza took a step back in surprise. He never pulled rank on her or Hughes.

"From now on do not share confidential information to him! Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," Maes said. Roy walked past him and down the hall, leaving him and Hawkeye there in shock.

* * *

**An: Next chapter will be Barry the Chopper incident. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. My schooling is over until the end of August so you should get another update sooner than normal. Please review.**


	30. Relationship Ties

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 30: Relationship Ties **

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA **

**AN: I think a few people got mixed up a bit when I said Barry the Chopper incident. I mean the incident with Ed and Winry not with Riza and Barry (though that will be in this story.) However you do get some cute Royai in this chapter so hopefully that will be good enough until I get to the Royai Barry incident.**

* * *

**Relationship Ties **

"What the hell? Hughes questioned in wonder as he watched his best friend walk off down the hall. He turned to Hawkeye whose normally neutral face held a look of shock that, without a doubt, mirrored his own.

"Did he really just. . .

"Yes he did," she said.

"Wow"

"Yes," she responded. "I know"

The expression of shock on her face soon wore off and she sighed. This time she looked really tired and frustrate at the same time.

"What's wrong?"

"He's worrying so much about those boys that it is distracting him. The worry for those boys is piling on his other stresses. He tells me I am babying them yet he won't give them any substantial mission because of danger."

"That's the way Roy is, he takes everything on himself."

"He knew that when he told them about the military options that there was going to be danger involved. I am just as worried for them but I am being realistic. Their journey is going to be difficult no doubt."

"You think Roy has forgotten that?" Maes questioned.

"No, I think he regrets the decision on bringing the Elrics into the military."

"All ready?"

Riza merely nodded. "The Generals are on his ass at the lack of leeway being made on catching the serial killers. He's over swarmed with so much paperwork that he's gone through three packs of pens and heaven knows how many pencils. I've had to take his gloves to keep him from snapping at the men who are bringing it."

"Are they trying to kill him?" Maes questioned incredulously.

"Apparently," she said. She hated seeing Roy like this. She tried to help him relieve all the stress that she could but she could only do so much. Sexual activities that he enjoyed oddly helped relax him for a while but then it was back to stress. Until they caught these two killers there wouldn't be much of a relief in sight.

"Let's drag him out for a few drinks tonight," Maes said.

Riza narrowed her eyes at him. "Alcohol is the last thing he needs."

"But you know it always relaxes him. Maybe we can get him to pass out and actually rest for a bit. You know he's probably not getting any sleep."

Riza couldn't agree to that. Roy actually slept rather well after their almost nightly activities so the stoic lieutenant that wasn't married to Roy façade had to come into play.

"Or I could just knock him out with the butt of my gun."

Maes laughed. "I think we'd better go with the drink," Maes said with a chuckle. He dug his hands into his pockets and walked past her. "Think I'll go find Edward and tell him to steer clear of Roy for now.

"Good idea sir. I will get back to helping the Colonel," she said.

"See you later Lieutenant," he said.

She saluted. "Yes sir," she said and turned to leave.

"Oh, Lieutenant, before I forget," Maes said and stopped in his tracks.

Riza stopped and turned around. "Yes sir?"

Maes suddenly rushed toward her and shoved a picture in her hand. "Have a lovely picture of my darling Elecia!" he said quickly and then was gone. Riza blinked in surprise. How in the heck could a thirty two year old man move that quickly? Hell, how could anyone move that quickly?

Riza laughed and put the picture in her pocket before making her way back to the office.

--

"You know, I really didn't want you but you were the closest thing I could get to my target." Barry said as he sharpened his chopping mallet. His feminine wig was still in place as he spoke to the scared young woman with her hands chained above her head.

"Why are you doing this?" she screamed. She was horrified at the wicked expression of malicious joy that spread across his face.

"Because I can," he said then laughed.

"I wanted the other beautiful blond that is in the military. She was at the site where I chopped up my last victim. She looks like you but much more beautiful. I believe she 

goes by the name of Hawkeye. She is a stunning piece of flesh. How I long to chop her up. To see what makes her tick. I want to see if she is different from the other women that I have chopped up.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "However attacking her wouldn't be very smart of me. She is in the military and is more than capable of killing me. If I were killed I would lose all joy of chopping people to bits. Maybe one day I will catch her off guard and chop her into tiny little pieces. Until then I will have to go with women as close as I can get.

"Why chop up people at all! It's sick," Winry said.

Barry stood and put the gag in her mouth.

"Shut up, I am tired of hearing you talk. Save your voice for screaming when I slowly slice that flesh of yours."

Winry struggled against her chains but he pushed her causing her to swing back and hit a wall. "Stay back there for a bit."

**-- **

"Soldier, have you seen the Fullmetal Alchemist!" Maes questioned as he stopped the very soldier that had retrieved Edward from the lunch room when he had a visitor

"I was just about to notify you sir. He ran off in quite a hurry," the soldier said. "He looked like someone was in danger. His visitor was gone as well. I figured it would be a good idea to inform you of that since you were sitting with him."

"What caused him to act that way?"

"He saw the tracks of a refrigerated truck," he replied.

Maes lifted his hand to his chin. Why would Ed go after a refrigerated truck? Then it suddenly struck him. A refrigerated truck could easily move bodies! But they checked every refrigerated truck in the city all ready.

"Thank you solider!" Maes said and ran off down the hall. He made his way to the kitchen to get the name of the company that delivered the meat to headquarters.

--

Roy shifted in his seat uncomfortably for the fifth time. Riza didn't say a word when she entered the office went over to her desk and began eating the lunch that Roy has gotten for her. It was the lack of her words that made him so damn uncomfortable. He knew the way he acted in the hallway with Maes was rather. . . Okay, he was a prick. But why couldn't people see his reasoning? He shifted again as Riza threw the styrofoam tray that contained her lunch in the trash. She looked over at him and blinked once.

"Sir, do you have itching powder in your pants or something?"

He almost jumped as he heard her speak. "Oh, um no," he said.

"Then why are you being so shifty?" she said.

"Shifty that's an odd choice of words Lieutenant," he stated.

"You have been scooting around in your chair strangely since I arrived here in the office," she said.

Roy straightened up in his chair and straightened his collar. "I don't know what you are talking about Lieutenant."

Riza withheld her laughter at his complete denial. "Yes sir, my mistake," she said deciding to just forget it. She sat back down at her desk and got out a book to read. Roy had a small break from the mounds of paperwork and she watched him doze off slightly. Roy's head was resting on his hand, his elbow popped up on the desk. His head was slowly drooping before he caught himself and stayed awake for a few seconds before nodding off again. She grinned softly and decided not to say anything to him. The man was horribly tired after all and a little nap wouldn't hurt anything. When his elbow almost slid off the desk she finally spoke. "It would be better if you rested your on your arms on your desk sir. You might avoid an injury that way."

He voice jarred him from his half sleep and he sat up completely straight. "Lieutenant I was just . . . " he began but then realized exactly what she had said. His face dropped in shock. "What did you just say?"

"I suggested an alternate sleeping position," she said.

"I know but you. . ."

"A little nap isn't going to hurt anything, especially since you have no paperwork to do. I'll wake you if someone comes."

Roy smiled softly at her and she returned it before going back to her book. He really didn't deserve such a kind gesture after the way he'd been acting. She was so good to him and he'd been less than a caring husband as of late. He took out a piece of paper and wrote on it before folding it into a paper plane and sailing it across to her. It landed gracefully on her book. She took it and looked up to see that Roy was now resting his head on his arms and sleeping.

She unfolded the paper and glance at it to of course see familiar handwriting. It said, "I love you more than life" in his messy yet elegant scrawl. One each side of the words were little hearts. She smiled brightly at the gesture, neatly folded the paper and stuck it in her purse. That would go in her special shoe box when she got home. That shoebox contained many sweet things that Roy had given her.

She then started back on her reading. The office was silent except for the occasional snore from Roy.

The phone ringing soon broke the silence. Effectively waking Roy up. She picked it up as Roy yawned.

"Hello, Roy Mustang's office," she said. Roy watched as her eyes widened. "Yes sir, we will be right down," she answered and hung up the phone.

"What's wrong?"

"Lt. Colonel Hughes thinks Ed is in danger. Ed followed a refrigerated truck that managed to bypass several checkpoint inspections. Hughes thinks it could be that the truck hid the bodies," she said. "They are heading for the address now."

Roy shot up from his chair. "Let's get going!" He grabbed his jacket and coat then made his way out of the office. Riza grabbed her coat as well and slipped it on before rushing to follow him.

"Stupid. . ." Roy muttered.

"Sir, please don't say anything to Edward," Riza said. She was lucky that she was alone in the car with Roy so that she was able to talk to him like this.

"Okay I won't," he said.

"Don't DO anything harmful to Edward either. He was running after that Winry girl. She went missing near the truck."

"I see," he said with a sigh. He really couldn't blame the kid now. If it had been Riza who went missing he would. . . Roy chuckled. Riza would have already killed the guy and have been back by now.

"What are you laughing about?" she questioned as she pulled up to where all the military cars were sitting.

"It's nothing," he said. "I won't say or do anything to Edward about this."

They both got out of the car and were stunned to see Ed sitting with Alphonse, minus an arm, and Winry standing with a soldier. Riza grabbed a blanket from a military emergency worker and walked over to Winry. She draped it over her shoulders and smiled softly when the young girl looked up at her.

"You're Miss Hawkeye," Winry said.

"Yes," she replied.

"You can go solider," Roy told the emergency worker. The man nodded and left. He looked at Winry and smiled softly. "You alright miss?"

Winry nodded softly. "Better than they are," she said softly and nodded toward Ed and Al. Winry glared at Roy as he looked in that direction. If it weren't for him then Ed wouldn't be in that situation. It was his fault Ed was in the military to begin with. Riza noticed the look but didn't speak on it. She felt the little girl cringe as they lead the man identified as Barry out of the butcher shop. Barry looked in their direction and Winry knew his gaze wasn't on her. It was on the woman behind her. She didn't know whether she should say anything about what Barry said or not.

As he gazed at Riza he smiled maliciously and almost lustfully until they put him in the vehicle to haul him off to jail. If the woman behind her notice the look he was given her then she gave no sign of it. The grip on Winry's shoulders stayed the same and the woman didn't tense up or move in the slightest way.

Her gaze drifted on the brothers as Edward cried. She was brought from her thoughts by Riza's calm voice. "Permission to take them away from the scene sir."

"Yes, good idea lieutenant Hawkeye," Roy said. Winry was surprised to hear his voice so soft. "I will meet you back at the office."

"Yes sir," she said. Winry felt herself being guided toward Ed and Al. "Boys, let me take you to the barracks so you can get some rest."

"Don't they need some statements or something?" Ed questioned.

"They can get them in the morning," she answered. "The Colonel will take care of telling them that."

Ed and Al stood up and followed Riza to the car. Roy walked over to Hughes as they pulled out.

"Do you think they have what it takes Roy?" Hughes said. Roy smirked.

"Yes, I think they do," he said.

--

"I am going to take you to the barracks where you are staying boys," Riza said.

"What about Winry?" Al questioned.

"Her bags were sent over to the female barracks with Lieutenant Maria Ross. Winry can bunk with her for the night. "

Riza looked at Winry out of the corner of her eye. Winry wanted to tell her something but kept stopping herself. If it was one thing Riza could do it was read people like a book. She decided not to mention it until she dropped Ed and Al off. "Is that all right Miss Rockbell?"

"You can call me Winry and its fine."

"All right," Riza said.

--

As soon as Riza saw that Al and Ed were in the barracks safe and sound she escorted Winry to the female barracks.

"There's something you've wanted to tell me. What is it?" Riza questioned.

Winry stopped in her tracks. "How . . . how did you know that?"

"I can read people very well Winry," she said. "The skill comes in handy with my type of work."

"Oh. . ."

"What is it? You can tell me," she said.

"Do you love the Colonel?"

Riza's face dropped in surprise. "That's what you wanted to ask me?"

"No but I am curious," she said. "You are always with him and seem to care about him."

"He's my commanding officer and it's my job to be around him at all times."

"Yes but do you like it?" she questioned.

"It serves its purpose. Why ask me that?"

"Because I would like to be able to help Ed and AL," she said, looking down at the floor. "I am useless to them. At least you are some use to the Colonel right?"

"You are of use to them Winry," she said.

"I couldn't help Ed during the fight," Winry said. She didn't know why she just didn't tell Riza about Barry and leave it be. It was just as if her fears came out.

"That doesn't matter though. People are good at different things. Now think about what you are good at," Riza said.

"I am good with automail," Winry said.

"Yes, and what does Ed have?"

"Automail," Winry answered then smiled. "So to help Ed and Al I need to become the best automail mechanic that I can possibly become!"

"Sounds good to me," Riza stated.

"Thank you Lieutenant," she said. "Thank you so much."

Riza smiled at her. "Now what were you initially wanting to tell me?"

Winry's face dropped and she looked around. "Well, it's just Barry he . . . he mentioned you."

Riza was surprised at the revelation. "What do you mean?"

"He mentioned that he wanted you. He said that you were beautiful and that he wanted to . . ." she trailed off and swallowed. "Chop you up. He said that was the main reason he wanted to chop me up. Because we looked a like and I was the closest he'd ever come to you."

"I see," Riza said and smiled.

"Doesn't that worry you? I mean he wanted to kill you specifically."

Riza placed a hand on Winry's shoulder. "It wouldn't be the first time someone has wanted to Winry. It's one of the job hazards," she said and led Winry to Maria Ross's bunk room. She knocked on the door and a woman with short black hair opened it. She saluted Riza who waved it off.

"Second Lieutenant Ross, this is Winry Rockbell."

"Hell Winry," Maria said and held out her hand.

"Hello," Winry replied, shaking the extended hand.

"Well, I have to get back to work. I will see you later Winry," she said.

"Goodbye and be careful," Winry said.

"Goodbye," Riza said and walked off. She got into the car and made her way back to the office. Riza walked in to see Roy putting on his coat.

"Barry is being executed in three days," Roy said. "He confessed fully. I can't help but feel Hughes was hiding something from me though"

"I'm sure he wasn't," she said. "If he was then it was probably just useless tidbits of information."

"You are probably right. Well, we don't have any paperwork left so we can go home."

"I see, very well," she said. "I need to go to the locker room for a minute. I have some things there I need to take home and wash. I've been putting it off for too long."

"I'll wait for you here," he said.

She smiled and made her way to the room. She saw Hughes come from his temporary office and shut the door. He smiled at her and she returned it.

"There's something you need to know," Maes said. "About Barry, he-"

"Chop me up," Riza finished for him.

Maes looked at her with surprise. "How did you know that?"

"Winry said he mentioned it to her."

"He was pretty obsessed with you. Apparently he first saw you at the scene of where he left one of the bodies. Then when he delivered meat he saw you around the cafeteria."

"I see," she said. Maes figured that it wouldn't disturb her that much. She was more than capable of taking care of herself.

"We shouldn't mention it to Roy," Maes said.

"Why is that?" Riza questioned.

"You know how he feels about you. It would worry him sick."

"It would?" she feigned ignorance. Yes she knew it would worry Roy greatly over something like that. Even if the monster was caught and going to be executed.

Maes laughed inwardly at Riza's attempt to be ignorant of Roy's feelings. He had to hand it to her; she was an excellent actress.

"Don't play stupid. You know how he feels specifically about you," Maes said.

"He cares for me no more or no less than any of his other subordinates," she said.

"Come on, you have got to be kidding?" Maes said.

Riza looked at him, nothing betraying her emotions at the moment. Maes mentally applauded her acting yet again. The woman had one hell of a poker face.

"Do you want him to care more?" Maes said, deciding to take a different route. He had her, she had to answer that and then he had a basic confession from her.

"I want to be respected just as any officer wants to be. I don't want preferential treatment because I have breasts and a vaginal sir."

Maes cursed, so that didn't work. Oh well, he'd have to go back to working on Roy. Of course he knew the two had deep feelings for each other and that they knew it. He just wanted to figure out just how far those went. He had a feeling that there was more to it than just being occasional lovers. He wanted his friend to be happy and by knowing the real relationship between Roy and Riza he would better be able to run interference if someone were to discover how deep their feelings were. He just wished his friends would be more honest with him so he knew. He wasn't doing it to be nosy like Roy and Riza probably though.

"I see," Maes said, deciding to drop it for now. "I still don't think we should tell Roy that. It would add more Roy onto him."

"Why did you bother to tell me sir? You know it wouldn't affect me in the slightest," she said.

"Would you want to know?"

"I think it is important to tell you. If someone sees you at a scene of a murder and develops a crush, for lack of a better word, then it could be dangerous."

"Not everyone is going to do that sir but I will keep it in mind."

"I don't know. If you got Roy's attention then you will get . . ."

"All due respect sir, I have to be going. I have to pick up some things from the locker room first though."

Maes smirked. "Very well, thank you Lieutenant," he said.

She nodded and made her way to the locker room cursing to herself. That man was too damn persistent and inquisitive. She partially admired that and partially found it very very annoying. Someday that inquisitive side of him was going to get him killed if he wasn't careful.

After gathering the things she needed she met Roy back at the office and they made their way home. Roy followed her inside her apartment and flopped down on the couch.

"You hungry?" she questioned, after depositing her clothing in the hamper.

Roy shook his head and stood from his seat. He walked over to her and kissed her. "I'm too tired to eat," he said.

"Then go to bed. I'll be there in a while," she said.

Roy kissed her again and went into the bedroom, pulling his coat and jacket off along the way. As she watched him walk to the bedroom she knew he'd just leave it on the floor beside the bed along with all of his clothing except his boxers. She laughed to herself and went to fix herself something to eat.

After eating and showering she walked into the bedroom to see Roy sprawled out on the bed and on top of the blankets, his mouth wide open and light snores coming from it. She smiled and went over to the closet. After retrieving a comforter and spreading it over the bed, she got into bed, leaded over, and kissed Roy's cheek lightly before turning on her side and falling asleep.

* * *

**AN: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. More coming . . . well, as soon as I can get it out. Please drop a review my way. **


	31. Missions Abound

_**Best Kept Secret **_

_**Author: MoonStarDutchess**_

_**Chapter 31: Missions Abound **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA **_

_**AN: This chapter was the perfect example of hell to write. Not because of the content but because I had about a very large chapter for you guys and then my computer decides to play sparky and well . . . dies, with ALL my stories and fries my back up jump drive that was in the USB port. **_

_**The hair scene with Rebecca was taken from the Fullmetal Alchemist book in figure red. The rest of the conversation, talking about Roy for example, is all made up from the scary place that is my mind. Hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

* * *

**Mission's Abound**

The ringing sound of the alarm filled the room, bringing Riza out of her peaceful slumber. She groaned and slowly raised her head to glance at the position of the hands on the clock. She groaned again, not wanting to get up from the warm bed. A grin came to her face when she realized just how much she was acting like Roy. The difference being that Roy never woke up because of something as insignificant as the sound of an alarm.

She reached over and clicked the knob at the back of the clock silencing the shrill bells atop it. She withheld the urge to sleep five more minutes and started to sit up, only to discover that it would be quite a difficult task indeed. She looked down to see that Roy's arms were wrapped around her waist, and a head was positioned in a strange and uncomfortable sideward angle on the mattress near her thigh. His mouth was still wide open as it was when he fell asleep and a tiny bit of drool was leaking out of it. It was only a matter of time before it would drop and hit the silk sheets.

"Roy, wake up," she said, trying to pull away from his arms. It was really no use though, once he had hold of something, there was no way to get him to let go until he woke up. The man clung to things in his sleep a lot. When alone it was a pillow, when he slept with her she was his clinging item of choice.

"Time to go to work," she tried again, this time poking him in the side of the face. He swatted her hand away and moved his head to rest on her lap snuggling to her. Riza studied his face for a bit. It was devoid of any of the lines that he had when he was awake. It was relaxed and a small smile always graced his soft lips; when he wasn't sleeping with his mouth open that is. She ran her hand through his smooth black hair wishing that she could let him sleep longer.

"Roy, please wake up. Don't make me resort to the sex joke to get you awake," she said with a frustrated sigh.

"Sounds good," Roy muttered sleepily. She felt the grip around her waist loosen and watched as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He then wiped his mouth. "Damn drool." He then looked at her with such a cute sleepy look that it caused her to laugh, lean toward him, and brush his lips softly.

"Go get a shower while I make us some breakfast," she said, getting off the bed and walking to the door. She turned and looked at Roy questioningly when she heard him whistle at her. Before she could ask why, he answered the question he knew was poised on her lips ready to be spoken.

"You look damn hot in my favorite shirt," he said.

Riza blushed and looked down at her clothing. She was wearing Roy's favorite shirt, a dark blue one that he always wore on his "dates." She had the buttons unbuttoned down to the middle of her breasts and the bottom hem came an inch above the middle of her thigh. She'd forgotten that she'd grabbed the shirt to sleep in instead of her nightgown. His shirts were the most comfortable things for her to walk around and sleep in after being in that hot, itchy uniform all day.

"Good, because you aren't getting it back," she said and left the room, the blush still very prominent on her face. Roy smirked. If she wore that around the house and he could stare, there was no way in hell that he wanted it back. Besides, she looked better in it than he did anyway.

--

Roy walked into the kitchen to see a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast waiting on the table for him. Beside it sat a mug of steaming hot coffee and a glass of orange juice. He scrunched up his nose at the orange liquid. He hated the juice with a passion but knew he would drink it anyway. Riza always wanted to make sure he got his proper vitamin C every morning. She was cute when she said that it would keep him from getting sick. The last time he'd caught a cold was right before he went to study with Hawkeye Sensei and he'd told her such. Still, she insisted.

"You should eat before your food gets cold," Riza said. His gaze turned to her and he watched as she cleaned a dish. He walked over, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her on the exposed part of her shoulder where the shirt dropped down.

"I get to see you in this shirt more when we are alone, right?"

"If you want," she said. She really had no problem wearing this around the apartment. She dried the dish and put it in the cabinet before turning around and giving him a sweet kiss. "Eat. I have to go shower, get dressed, and then get to work before you do. Be sure not to be late. You have a meeting with Edward this morning. "

He groaned, let go of her, nodded, and walked over to sit at the table. He started to pick up his fork but as she walked by, he couldn't help but put that off so he could give Riza a firm slap on the ass. She moved forward slightly then turned her head to glare at him. He shot her that grin and she chuckled before going to take her shower.

--

Riza was filing some paperwork when Roy walked into the room. "You're late," she said.

The men all looked up at their commanding officer as soon as Hawkeye spoke.

"Ed's in your office and your paperwork is on your desk," she said.

Roy groaned. "Ed's not what I wanted to deal with first thing in the morning when I get here."

"He wouldn't be the first thing if you'd gotten here on time sir," she said.

Roy frowned and walked into the office that he shared with Riza. She closed the door to the cabinet and looked at the men. "I am going to the range for practice. I'll be back later," she said. "Make sure those two don't kill each other Havoc."

"Will do," he said, accompanying his words with a nonchalant salute.

--

"Fullmetal," Roy addressed as he walked past a seated Ed and sat down at his desk. "What can I do for you?"

"I want to continue being a state alchemist," he said.

"Oh? And just how do you know I haven't already processed your termination paperwork?"

"Because finding me was something that probably got you some points with the state and. . ."

He trailed off as Roy glared at him. Normally he wouldn't be intimidated by the man but this morning Roy held his life as a state alchemist in his hands.

"Why do you want it back if you aren't going to obey my orders? It would do me no good to have a disobedient pipsqueak under my command."

Anger flowed from Ed in waves but he managed to keep from flipping out at the colonel.

"I'll obey all your orders; complete all the blasted missions that you send me on. On one condition."

"A condition you say? Go on, I am curious."

"I'll obey all of your orders sir but as long as I serve I'd like to receive all the information regarding the Philosopher's stone. Then when I'm finished with my other duties you have to allow me to search for it."

"You do know people will question your motives."

"Yes," he replied.

"You realize what will happen if the state learns about your human transmutation. Al will be taken away to a lab somewhere as a precious sample." Roy paused for a moment, taking in the young man before him. He had bags under his eyes and looked paler than usual. Roy couldn't blame him, the recent events were hard on him, and he could only imagine what effect it had on such a young boy. "Fine, but you will report any and all findings about the Philosopher stone directly to me. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir," Ed said.

"Good," Roy replied and handed Ed a file.

"What's this?"

"Your first mission," he said. "For this one I will keep the training wheels on. You are to suspect the mineral resources of mines at Youswell as well as the living conditions, the way the commanding officer is acting, etc. and report back to me when you are done," he said.

"Yes sir," Ed said. "Al and I will leave right away."

--

Riza met her friend Rebecca outside of the shooting range supply building. "On time as always," she said.

Riza smiled as they both went inside the main building at the range to get their rifles. They took their keys from their lockers and went over to unlock the grey chains that secured their guns to the wall.

"Riza, your hair," Rebecca said, turning to her.

Riza reached up and ran her hand through the locks that were growing out slowly. "What about it?"

"It's getting so long," Rebecca replied.

Riza nodded. "I think I may keep it long. I'll have to pin it up when it gets burdensome."

"You growing it out because of some man?" Rebecca teased as they left went through the doors to the outdoor range. "

Riza shot her friend a glare. "No, it's not for any man. I met a young girl who had very long blond hair and I wanted to test out the look."

"It's such a simple reason," Rebecca said.

"Most reasons are simple when one gets down to it," Riza said.

"I suppose," Rebecca said. "But I still think it's for a man. Why else would you be testing out new looks. You aren't usually the type to want something new."

"Are you calling me dull?" Riza questioned as she stood took her place in the shooting booth, rifle poised to shoot.

"Not dull. Not at all, just satisfied."

"Satisfied?" Riza questioned, pulling the trigger to fire the bullet and hitting right at the heart of the target.

Rebecca frowned. "You weren't even fucking aiming! And yes, satisfied. You just seem like you are happy with things staying the same. No, wait, not happy . . . content with things staying the same."

"Content? You are using rather odd words to describe me." Riza fired off another shot, this time it was the perfect headshot.

"You think so? I think content is better wording than happy. Are you happy?" Rebecca asked.

Riza lowered her gun and looked at her friend quizzically. "Of course," Riza replied. "As happy as I can be in my circumstances."

Rebecca didn't believe her for a moment. Ever since the murders committed by Barry the Chopper, the incident with Tucker and Nina, and the Elric's arrival, she'd been rather melancholy. She watched as Riza raised her gun and fired once again.

"I think you are a wonderful soldier," Rebecca said. "And an even better friend."

Riza lowered her gun yet again and looked over at her. "What's bringing this on?"

"You just don't seem to be your normal self, that's all."

"Rebecca, I am fine. I am just tired from all the stresses going on with the colonel," she said.

Rebecca decided to drop the subject for now. She made a decision to cheer up her friend. "How about we transfer under Olivier Armstrong?" she said. "That way you won't have to worry about Colonel Mustang."

"Got another letter too?" Riza asked.

"Yep," she said. "I bet the colonel wouldn't be too thrilled in knowing that Oliver Armstrong wants his favorite soldier would he?"

"Havoc got a letter too?" Riza questioned, trying to derail the conversation that Rebecca was trying to instigate.

"You know who I am talking about Riza. Don't play stupid. You know perfectly well that Roy Mustang would be a complete mess if it weren't for you under him. But then again you are probably happy with the position right?"

"Of course. If I wasn't I wouldn't have taken the position in the first place."

"Yes, all mighty sniper who can pick and choose her station. You could have any sniper commander position in Amestris yet you choose to stay under the Flame Alchemist. I would enjoy being under the colonel but not as an aide," Rebecca cracked, honestly having no desire to be in that sort of positing with Mustang. She couldn't resist making the jokes because she loved the way Riza flustered when she spoke like that toward the colonel. She knew her friend's feelings were more than professional toward him. Sure enough, a flush came to her cheeks. "I mean I wonder if the flame and fire theme carries over to the bedroom."

Rebecca had no idea how much Riza really wanted to answer that question. Yes, it did indeed carry over to the bedroom and the living room, and the kitchen, and the hallway, and a back alley, and many other places that they'd had sex. Of course, she couldn't answer so she just scolded Rebecca. "You aren't supposed to speak that way about your superior officer," Riza said.

"Oh come on, I'm not the only one. Every single and even some of the married women that work in headquarters wonders that same question. You can't tell me that you've never wondered just how good Mustang is in bed. Bet he could make a girl squeal like a -"

"Rebecca!" Riza yelled, cutting her off. "I can honestly say that I've never wondered about Colonel Mustang's sexual expertise." It was true after all; she'd never had to wonder.

"So that means that you've experienced them first hand right?"

Riza honestly wanted to tell Rebecca about her and the colonel. She knew Rebecca was very good with secrets and could run good interference. She'd have to discuss it with Roy first and they still couldn't tell Maes because he would have to tell Gracia. Rebecca was military and could handle herself, but Gracia wasn't. It would truly be nice to be able to confide in Rebecca more when Roy did something that made her feel angry, sad, or scared.

Riza raised her gun and fired, hitting the target where the groin area should be. Rebecca cringed but then got her meaning as Riza quirked a smile at her. "OH MY GOD," she said.

"Don't tell a soul," Riza whispered. "Now will you please stop taking about it."

"I won't tell I swear but . . . When?"

"Later," Riza said.

"So you two are involved?"

"Later," Riza said, "I have to discuss things with the colonel first."

Before Rebecca could say anything back to her friend, she was hit roughly on the ass causing her to screech. She turned and glared at the easy going, and old pervert, General Grumman. Riza put her gun down and started to salute but Grumman waved it off. Rebecca rubbed her ass while muttering about old perverted generals under her breath.

"I was looking for you Lieutenant Hawkeye," he said.

"What can I do for you sir?"

"I was hoping you could tell me where Colonel Mustang was."

"He should be in the office sir," she stated.

"I just came from there. I knew you would be here for some training so I figured I would come and ask you. You always seem to know where he is."

"I am sure I can find him for you sir," she said.

"Very well. When you do find him; I need to see the two of you in my office."

"Yes sir," he said.

"Carry on then," he replied and walked off.

"Perverted old geezer!" Rebecca snapped, causing Riza to laugh. "Why doesn't he ever hit you on the ass? It's more noticeable than mine."

Riza unloaded her gun and glared at Rebecca. "Are you saying my ass is big?"

"That's not what I meant! It's just that you are curvier than me," she said and Riza's glare darkened. "Not that it's a bad thing. I wish I had curvier curves. I mean, yours are so-."

"Shouldn't you be practicing?" Riza said.

"Yes I should," Rebecca stated.

Riza picked up her gun and smiled slightly. "I'll talk to you about the colonel when I get clearance from him. All right? Don't mention anything I've said to another living being," Riza whispered.

"I promise I won't say a word" Rebecca replied.

--

After returning the rifle to the range supply building, she made her way back to the office. She was a bit perturbed that the colonel wasn't there. He was supposed to be doing his paperwork and even though he always wanted to get away from it as much as possible, it just wasn't normal for him to just leave the office. She walked inside to see all the men sitting at their desks, their paperwork completed.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye, General Grumman was just here."

"Yes, I know he came to the range to ask where the Colonel had gone. I came here to check to see if he was back yet."

"No, not yet."

"And you four have no idea where he went?"

"No, we don't."

"You didn't even bother asking when he left?" she snapped.

"We were out ourselves. We had to leave to get our ids renewed again. The personnel office here keeps screwing them up."

"I see," she said. "Get that paperwork of yours over to the records office while I look for the Colonel."

"Right," Havoc said.

Riza growled as she walked down the hallway. She spotted Maes walking out of room he was using as an office while he was there in East.

"Sir," she said, getting his attention.

"Yeah? What's up Hawkeye?"  
"Have you seen Colonel Mustang?"

"The last time I saw him he was heading out the door of headquarters."

Riza growled and Maes took a step back.

"Thank you sir," Riza said and started to walk away. She paused when Maes called her name. She turned to look at him.

"I am leaving for Central in an hour. Tell the Roy bye for me," he said.

"I will if I can find him," she said.

"There's a new girl in legal. Maybe he's over there hitting on her," Maes said, gauging Riza for a reaction. He was disappointed when he didn't get a jealous one.

"It wouldn't surprise me sir," she said and walked away from him.

--

Riza went to the legal department. Roy probably wasn't there but wanted to check just in case. All right, so she was jealous. The new girl in legal turned out to be an older woman that wore a very noticeable diamond ring and wedding band on her left hand. Riza asked some girls she knew if they'd seen him only to be giving negative answers.

She made her way to every department outside only to have her search turn up negatively. After deciding to finally go to the office and wait, she bumped into Edmund Carnell on the way back inside.

"Hey," he said.

"Hello yourself," she replied with a small smile. "You wouldn't have happened to see Colonel Mustang anywhere would you?

"Actually on my way here to deliver the General Grumman's gun I saw him go to the Military's East Library."

"Figures," Riza said. "Well I have to find him. See you later, sorry I can't chat more."

"I understand. I have to get this gun to Grumman anyway. See you later," he said.

"Yes, see you later," she said, turned around and made her way to the library.

--

One the way to the library Riza could barely keep herself from removing her hot cotton jacket; it was against protocol to do so. Also do so would mean revealing the two guns she had in her shoulder holsters and it was also against protocol to reveal those unless in action. She sighed and took out her handkerchief to wipe her head of the sweat that accumulated there. She could see the heat radiating in lucent waves off the stone roads and the smooth surface of the sidewalks. This side of the city was far less active than usual and the reason for the people's indolence was beating down from the sky in rays of heat. Few were brave, or foolish, enough to go out in the midday heat. Ishbal had been scorching but it wasn't as bad as the East city. Of course, the pavement that sucked in heat had much to do with the city being so much hotter. In addition, she was in the shade 90 percent of the time in Ishbal.

She was relieved as the East library came into view. She would give Roy a piece of her mind for making her search for him in this weather. She made her way up the stone steps and into the building. She nearly sighed loudly with relieve as the cool air of the building hit her sun flushed skin. Riza now realized exactly how thankful she was for whoever invented the air conditioner. She finally took off the jacket and held it in her arms as she walked to the front booth, saying a silent thank you to the inventor of air conditioning.

"Is Colonel Mustang here?" Riza asked the young woman working at the desk. She was a thin woman and it was clear by the way she'd acted that she thought the world revolved around her. The woman looked up and Riza could see a slight snarl of her lip. She looked Riza up and down, and then went back to work.

"Excuse me, I asked you a question," Riza barely said in a civil manner.

"I will have to ask you to leave," she said. "This library is only for state alchemists. I am sure you are definitely not one of those." She stood up and straightened her military uniform. Riza smirked to herself when she saw the uniform and the insignias on it.

"I suggest you watch your tongue Sergeant. The next superior office you insult may have you court-martialed." Riza said, donning her jacket once more to display her rank, and walking past the small swinging gate that separated the lobby from all the books and reading rooms.

"I would say the same for you. I have orders from Colonel Mustang to keep anyone from interrupting his research." She grabbed Riza's arm to stop her. Riza finally had enough of this woman and shot her a glare.

"I assure you sergeant that he won't mind that you let me through," Riza said. She really wanted to cold cock this woman. She was hot, thirsty, and annoyed. This woman was making her downright hostile.

"Oh I am sure he wouldn't mind that I let that serial killer though either. Sorry Ma'am, his orders over yours."

Riza was starting to lose her temper. Was this girl really that much of an idiot? Didn't Roy mention that she might drop buy?

"The only one I am allowed to let through is Lieutenant Hawkeye and he hasn't shown up yet."

"Yes she has," Riza snapped and jerked her arm away.

The girl's eyes widened. "You are Lieutenant Hawkeye?"

"Didn't I just say that?" Riza snapped.

"I suggest you learn some manners Sergeant. If security outside didn't try to stop me then it is not your job to do so," Riza said, walking past the woman and deeper into the library.

--

Riza made her way between the tall bookshelves as she walked toward the first floor reading rooms. Now, she was kicking herself for not asking the annoying sergeant Roy's exactly location. Then again, the bitch should have told her. Riza really didn't want to go hunt through all of the reading rooms in the four-level library, nor did she really have time to do so. She shrugged her shoulders and decided to ask someone at the first reading rooms if they'd seen him. There was no way in hell she was going to go back to the annoying woman and ask. Dealing with her once in a lifetime was enough.

When she finally arrived at the first set of reading rooms, she spotted quite a few alchemist at the shelves searching through all the research books that section had to offer. She didn't have to pick someone to ask about Roy because apparently they recognize who she was and spoke to her first.

"Looking for Colonel Mustang?" She turned in the direction of the voice and saw two men standing against a bookshelf to her right. They were dressed in civilian clothes but the watch chains of the state alchemists were in clear sight. One was a talk redheaded man with a beard while the other was slightly shorter and had black hair and bright blue eyes; he was very similar looking to Roy but a few inches taller and skinnier.

"Yes," she answered, not sure which of them spoke to her.

"He's in reading room D47," the red-haired man said.

"Thank you very much, she said and walked over to the small elevator. She took off her jacket as she waited for it to descend down to her floor. Her hearing perked when she heard the two alchemists that she'd spoken to talk about her.

"Who's that?"

"That's Lieutenant Hawkeye, Mustang's adjutant and bodyguard."

"Damn, some alchemists have all the luck. I wish had an adjutant that looked like that."

"If you had a woman like that under your command you'd be court-martialed in a week," the other said.

"Yes, but it would be almost worth it wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it would."

Riza blushed and was relieved that the elevator had arrived. She walked inside and smiled slightly at the two alchemists before the doors shut. It was quite flattering to hear things like that even during official duties.

She got off the elevator on the fourth floor and made her way to reading room D47. Though it was void of Roy, she could tell he was here because his gloves were sitting on the table and his coat was draped over the back of the chair.

Riza really didn't feel like searching for him among the shelves of books so she made her way over to the table, laid her jacked on it, and then leaned against it. She would wait until he got back. She counted their lucky stars that it was General Grumman who wanted to see him. Anyone else would have been angry at not finding Roy in his office- even if Roy had been out on a military themed duty. It was her job to go out and do the menial administrative jobs; the kind of jobs that a colonel wasn't to handle. No doubt, she would have gotten a stern reprimand as well had it been anyone else.

She was brought out of her thoughts by someone's footsteps walking toward the room. It was the last one at the corridor so it was most likely Roy. Sure enough, in walked her husband reading from a book and not paying much attention to his surroundings. She was surprised when he closed the door with his foot and walked over to her. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and said, "Hi Riza," before sitting down- his eyes never once leaving the text in front of him. That was soon to change when his head shot up and he smiled sheepishly.

"Hi Riza," he said again, plastering that charming grin on his face and praying it would charm her.

"Hi there," she said in a calm voice that made Roy quite nervous.

To Roy, it seemed like the air in the room suddenly got thicker. Everything was deadly quiet, and a light trace of sweat appeared on his brow. He knew Riza was ticked, and when Riza was ticked, it wasn't good news for his well-being.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped. Roy had to restrain a jump at the suddenness and tone of her voice. A state alchemist, hero of many battles, and one snappish tone from Riza could almost make him shit himself.

"Researching," he said.

"Oh? And what exactly are you researching?"

"I am researching some information for Ed and Al regarding the Philosopher's stone."

"They aren't honestly going to pursue that are they?"

"Yes they are."

"And you are going to let them?"

"Yes I am. Ed and I made a deal."

Riza quirked an eyebrow at him. Roy wasn't one to make a deal unless it benefited him.

"What's in it for you?"

"The knowledge that I helped a young man attain his dream," Roy said.

Riza withheld the urge to laugh aloud. Did Roy really expect her to fall into that pile of bullshit?

"The truth," she said simply.

"If he finds the philosopher's stone that's a point for me on the promotion ladder."

"That's better. But why didn't you just direct Ed here?" "

"He doesn't have the clearance to get to this fourth floor information."

"You need clearance to get here? I got here no problem."

'Yes but you have front desk clearance from me. Besides, what kind of idiot would keep you from coming here?"

"The idiot at the front desk. That's what kind."

"Sergeant Shiva gave you trouble?"

"Yes," she said.

"You didn't hurt her did you?" Roy joked.

"Very funny," she replied. "Forget about that or why you are here. You should have left a note saying where you were going. It would have saved me a lot of trouble. Do you know how hot it is out there? It's absolutely smoldering and these uniforms aren't comfortable in this kind of weather!"

"Wait a minute! Why am I letting myself be berated by you? Who's the commanding officer here anyway?"

Riza glared at him again, and then sighed. "Sometimes I wonder that myself sir," she said with a sigh. "General Grumman stopped by the office and you weren't there. He found me training at the range and asked me where you were. I told him I'd find you and here I am. He wants to speak to the two of us. I looked all over headquarters and if it weren't for Edmund Carnell directing me here, I probably would still be looking at headquarters.

Roy shot up from his seat at the mention of Edmund. "What the heck is he doing in town?"

"He was delivering a gun to General Grumman. Speaking of Edmund, I really need to purchase another gun. I think I'll drop by one of the shops and order one." Roy walked up to her and frowned. "I'll buy you one, any gun you want. We'll go anywhere you want. Just not around him."

"I do believe you are jealous Colonel Mustang," she said. "There are more important manners to look into other than Edmund. General Grumman wants to see you."

"I am not jealous," he replied walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her, ignoring the "general" part altogether.

"We are in uniform Roy," she warned, trying to push him away.

"In a room with one locked door and no windows," he added and tried to kiss her.

"You never locked the door," she said, finally succeeding in pushing him away. "And you are jealous," she said.

"I am not, I just don't want him around you because he always looks at you as if he wants to date you- among other things," he said, a frown gracing his lips.

"Yes, and that qualifies as jealously," she said. "Put your book up and let's get to the General Grumman's office." Roy walked over to the door and locked it causing Riza to place both hands on her hips and shoot him a stern look.

Roy grinned. "Not yet," he said. His eyes trailed her body, taking in her appearance. She had a red tinge to her cheeks, a testament to the heat outside. Her tight brown shirt clung to her body as always outlining her luscious curves making him thankful that she had to keep that jacket on when out in public. He didn't want the men in public to get a glimpse of her in that- especially when he couldn't put an arm around her possessively and tell them to back off.

"You look sexy," he said.

"I told you. No more comments like that, kissing and things of that nature while on duty," she said.

Roy walked back over to her and wrapped his arms around her once more. She knew there wasn't any use in fighting it. "You didn't say anything about comments or kissing, you said no sex in the office. This isn't the office," he said and brought his lips down on hers.

She kissed him back for a short while, but when she felt herself being lowered back onto the table she pushed him off her. She grabbed her jacket and the book that were sitting on said table and walked to the door.

"General Grumman is expecting us sir," she said, unlocking the door and walking out. She placed the book back on the shelf, paying no attention and not caring to look at the call numbers. Roy soon followed tucking a folded up paper into his inner jacket pocket.

They rode the elevator down to the bottom floor and stepped out.

"I see you found him," a voice said.

Riza turned and smiled at the two men that told her where to find the colonel.

"Yes, and thank you for telling me," she said.

"How about you let me buy you a drink after you get off work then?" the black haired man said, walking closer to the two, his red haired friend not far behind.

"Fraternization," she said. "You are state alchemists after all."

"If I weren't a state alchemist, would you go?"

Riza could tell her colonel was fuming but he wouldn't' say anything to the men. It would pretty much blow any easygoing mannerisms he was known for out the window. When he became fuehrer, he would need as many alchemists on his side as he could get.

"I am on duty sir," she said.

"I am asking a hypothetical question."

"Go ahead and answer Lieutenant," Roy said. She turned to him and blinked. "There will be no repercussions for it."

Riza was quite amused at the tone. It seemed so professional but Roy was really really pissed off.

"Yes, I guess I would," she said with a smile to the man.

"I'll remember that if I ever resign," he said with a grin.

"Let's get going now Lieutenant," Roy said, making his way to the back.

"Bye sirs," Riza said. She saluted the two men before following Roy.

"Almost makes me want to resign," the black haired man said.

--

"Sir, where are we going?"

"Back door," he said.

"There's a backdoor to this place? I could have saved myself a lot of annoyance had I known that."

"One way door. Exit only," he said.

"Oh," she said with a sigh.

Roy opened the door and let her step out first before walking out. As soon as the hot air hit him, he wanted to turn around and walk back inside.

"You walked from headquarters in this heat? No wonder you were pissy," he said.

"Don't use that word to describe me ever again," she said, walking down the steps ahead of him. He frowned and followed her, finally coming to walk by her side.

"You'd think they would make some kind of uniform fit for this heat. I mean we have special uniforms for the colder climates."

"I agree," she replied.

"Damn, it wasn't this hot when I walked here," he said.

When he didn't get a response, he looked over at her. She was merely walking along, not really paying attention to him.

"Are you mad that I didn't tell you where I was going?"

"No, just a bit annoyed."

"I see," he said. They walked a little further when Roy suddenly asked unexpectedly, "Would you really have gone out with him?"

"Who?" Riza questioned, shortly forgetting the exchange with the alchemist back at the library.

"That alchemist," he said.

"Oh, he slipped my mind," she said.

"Already?" Roy questioned.

"I have no need to remember being asked out by him," she said, then changed her tone lower, "I am a taken woman."

"Would you have if you weren't? If we were involved the way we are?" Roy questioned in a lower voice, just in case anyone was nearby.

"Yes, I think I would. If I wasn't in love with you."

"He doesn't strike me as your type," he said.

Riza laughed at the comment. "He's very similar to you," she said. "At least in looks."

"So I'm your type? Look wise I mean," he said.

"Yes, look wise. Apparently personality wise as well otherwise we wouldn't get along the way we do."

Roy grinned and started to speak more on the subject but headquarters came into view.

"I have something I need to talk to you about when we get home. It concerns my friend Rebecca," Riza said.

Roy turned his head to look at her. "That woman annoys me."

"Yes, and Maes annoys me. What of it?" she said.

"Maes annoys everyone. It's part of his charm," Roy said, a chuckle lilting his voice. The two made their way up the steps of headquarters and paused in front of the glass doors.

"That's true," Riza said. "But Rebecca isn't annoying. She just isn't too fond of your arrogance."

"Lack of taste. Complete lack of taste," he said.

"I agree," Riza said, "She finds you sexy as well."

"Oh really?" Roy said, a proud smirk gracing his lips.

"Yes. Like you said, a lack of taste," Riza cracked and walked into headquarters. Roy stopped at her statement and frowned.

"That wasn't a funny joke," Roy muttered as he walked inside as well.

--

Riza and Roy walked into the general's office and the secretary looked up and smiled. "The General was waiting for you. He's in a meeting now but he told me to tell you to wait in the office."

"Thank you," Riza said.

She and Roy made their way into the office and took a seat in the two chairs situated in front of the general's desk.

"See, we could have had sex in that reading room."

"Hush," Riza snapped.

Roy stood up and walked over to the shelf on the right side of the room to gaze at all the trophies and certificates. "I want an office like this."

"You'll have a better one someday sir," she said.

"This office is casual and relaxing," Roy said, and it was the truth. Unlike the other generals' offices, this one was upbeat. The walls were white, with a few sports flags adorning them. It had a weird statue in one corner and potted plants on tables in front of the windows.

Roy read the words on each certificate when he was shocked to see a group with not Grumman's name but Riza's.

"Hey, he has some of your certificates up here. Is he supposed to have these? Hummm . . . Riza Hawkeye 95th percentile shooting score; Amestris Academy Sharpshooter Award; Multiweapon Certification Certificate. That's quite a list.

Riza shrugged. "I was going to throw them out but he wanted them. He says any achievement is worth noting for it is part of what makes up who you are."

"Ishbal Declaration of Sniper Defense for outstanding achievement. Never heard of that one," Roy said.

"It's an award exclusively given to snipers at 775 kills," Riza said softly. "You get another one when you hit 1000. It suffices to say that I hope I never get to 1000."

Roy paled at hearing her talk in that tone. Memories of Ishbal often came to him those nights but he'd rarely seen her show any feelings about Ishbal. It was quite disturbing to see her do so. However, he obviously knew that she felt as bad, if not worse than he, about the entire incident.

"Both of us really wanted to burn that one. However, it wouldn't look good if he didn't have what the state deems a great achievement."

"I see," Roy said, going over and taking the seat beside her once again. "He makes sense about achievements shaping who you are."

"He's usually always right,' Riza said.

Roy nodded. General Grumman was one of the few general's in the Amestris military for which he had genuine respect. The man was wise beyond imagining and Roy would listen in detail to any tips or tricks he had. The man helped him with the ladies man image that not only covered the fact he was married to Riza-which the general doesn't know- and great for gathering information.

When Riza told him about her relation to Grumman, he'd been completely shocked.

He'd liked the general very well before finding out and liked him even more after he learned about the relationship. If it weren't for his genes, so to speak, Riza wouldn't be here.

Roy suddenly reached over and locked the door.

"Sir, what are you-" she was cut off by his hand coming up to the side of her face and his lips brushing hers. He pulled away and then unlocked the door.

"Thank you," she said with a small smile, knowing he was trying to make her feel better.

"Not a problem," he said.

As soon as he said that, the door to the office opened and General Grumman walked through it, closing it behind him.

"There you are Mustang. I hope you didn't make Elizabeth look to hard for you."

"Sorry about that sir, I was at East Library doing some work," Roy said.

"No harm done," the general replied.

"General sir, I thought at work you were supposed to call me by my rank. We discussed this sir."

Grumman frowned and sat down in his seat. He smiled and laughed. "See how she treats her old grandfather Mustang? I am growing old and feeble and she won't allow me the luxury of calling her by her name here in private."

Riza snorted. During his last check up the doctor remarked that he wouldn't be surprised if her grandfather outlived them all. Her grandfather was in top physical condition.

"It's outrageous sir," Roy said. Riza shot him a glare causing him to chuckle inwardly. She hated when he and her grandfather teamed up against her and teased her.

"It certainly is a pity," Grumman said, with a sigh. "Now, on to why I wanted to meet with the two of you." He took two files from the drawer of his desk and handed one to each of them. They opened the folders, to see a few pictures and background sheets. "As you know, we usually send the missions to Central and they send investigation units out. However, the all of Central's investigation units are assigned to protecting alchemists and finding the other serial killer. That means that any other important missions fall to the investigation units from other headquarters."

"The other headquarters don't have an investigation unit sir," Riza said.

"Exactly. Therefore, we have to make a temporary one. Congratulations Mustang, you are in charge of the temporary East headquarters investigations department," Grumman said.

Suddenly, the office grew very quite. The feel of awkwardness loomed over the three officers. Roy really didn't want the added stress but knew that he couldn't refuse the assignment.

"Permission to speak freely sirs," Riza questioned. They both gave their permission readily.

"Don't you need someone a bit smarter to head up an investigation division?"

"Hey!" Roy protested. "I resemb. . .resent that remark."

"I'm not calling you stupid sir. You just don't have an investigative mind. You're no Maes Hughes when it comes to gathering intel."

"Who the hell is?" Grumman said. "That man found me when I thought I had the perfect hiding place."

"Hiding place sir?" Riza questioned.

"I am proud of my family, especially my granddaughter but an old man can only take so much of having pictures shoved in his face."

"Oh, I see," Riza said. "Try giving him the family glare. That usually runs him away."

"I'll have to try that," Grumman said.

Roy was quite confused at the conversation and made a note to ask about that particular glare and if he too could learn it.

"Anyway, those two files I gave you contain the photos and backgrounds of Tyler and Ava Wayne."

"Aren't they wanted here in Amestris for embezzlement and murder?"

"Yes but the circumstances concerning them are changing," Grumman said. He was greeted by two confused looks. "There's been a string of kidnappings. The victims are the children of prominent business owners, wealthy art dealers, and casino owners, etc. We have reason to believe that Francis Peak is involved."

"The head of the Peak crime syndicate?" Roy questioned.

"Yes. Just recently General Hakuro's children, Martina and Toby, were kidnapped."

Roy and Riza's eyes widened.

"The mission was taken out of his hands because of the personal matter. The military has been keeping this incident hush hush," he said.

"I see," Roy replied.

"Mr. and Mrs. Wayne contacted us. You see, they own a string of casinos and galleries in Cretea and are seeking to adopt a few children. They are supposedly turning over a new leaf, so to speak. Peak contacted them and upon hearing his offer and about the string of kidnappings here in Amestris they notified us about the offer. We believe that Peak is kidnapping the children and selling them out of country."

"Why would notify us of that when they are criminals themselves," Riza questioned.

"In return for the charges against them to be dropped. If they help us the Fuehrer has agreed to drop all charges."

"Even the murder charges?" Roy asked.

"The people they murdered were criminals as well so the fuehrer sees it as them doing him a favor." Grumman said this in a tone that told them he thought the fuehrer was an idiot.

"Why is he only kidnapping privileged children?" Riza asked.

"Yes, I was wondering that myself. Wouldn't it be easier just to kidnap poor children or orphans. God knows the government doesn't give a rats ass about them," Roy grumbled the last sentence.

"The main reason is ransom. He always says he'll return the children for X amount. The parents pay it but they never see their children again."

"What do you want us to do."

"As you see, the two of you happen to bear a slight resemblance to the two. So I suggest that the two of you go undercover posing as the Wayne's. You are to meet with Mr. Peak and arrange to receive the children. When he does hand them over, then we have our evidence."

"We'll have to do something about the hair color," Riza said, gazing at the pictures of the couple.

"I am sure the colonel here knows a trick or two with alchemy for a quick fix."

"Yes sir," he said.

"You need to memorize everything in those folders. You will go to Cretea and learn the casinos well. You will live there for a few weeks and Havoc, Rebecca, Breda, and Falman will accompany you as your entourage. They are to memorize, the files here," Grumman said laying his hand on top of a small file. "You will need to have a meeting tonight to go over things."

"Yes sir," Roy replied.

"That's about it," he said. "We begin when you feel your team is ready Colonel Mustang."

--

Roy and Riza left the general's office and made their way back to their own.

"Looks like another late night," Roy said with a groan. "And more work piled on my back." He turned to Riza who was reading a file on the woman she was supposed to portray.

"You wanted to talk about Rebecca," he said.

"Pardon?" she said, looking up from the document.

"You said earlier that tonight you wanted to talk about Rebecca. I figured since its almost lunch we could talk about it now."

Riza shook her head. "Now's not the time. Let's wait until this mission is over."

"You sure?" he questioned.

"Yes, I'm sure," she answered. She frowned inwardly, every time an important issue came up they would always be distracted by a mission or some other job related issue. She sighed and resigned herself even more to the fact that these sorts of things came with the job.

* * *

**AN: I hope you liked the chapter. Please review. **


	32. Getting To Know You

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 32: Getting to Know You **

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA **

**AN: This chapter and the next has quite a bit of comedy in them. After this mission, it will back to the manga/anime stuff. Note: The name that Breda has been gay man approved for use by my friend Jake. No insult toward gay men is intended.**

* * *

**Getting to Know You **

"Man, this sucks. That was the first date I was able to get in a month and here I had to cancel because the chief called a meeting," Havoc said with a sigh as he made his way to the meeting room. Breda patted him on the back.

"Always more fish in the sea," Breda said.

"My sea is more like a goldfish bowl and my fish are more like the algae along the sides," Havoc replied. "I'd had an angel fish."

"Come on, cheer up Lieutenant Havoc. There are more important and entertaining things in life than women." Furey said.

Havoc looked at him as if he'd grown another head. "Kid, a woman is the ultimate form of entertainment."

"Oh? Is that all we are good for?" he heard a feminine voice snap. The three men turned around to see Rebecca glaring at them. They all paled upon seeing her. She was as scary as Hawkeye was when she was angry. However, Hawkeye had that calm anger and could restrain it better than Rebecca. The woman before them took more of a violent route when it came to anger release and usually that violence was taken out on the person who made her angry.

"No, that's not what I meant!" he said.

She narrowed her eyes and growled but made no move to maim him.

"We should get going," Havoc said nervously and walked off, the other men quickly following him.

Rebecca chuckled slightly. Though they thought women were entertaining, they probably didn't realize how entertaining they were.

"Men are so easy. Especially those men," she laughed and walked in the direction they went.

When they all arrived, they were surprised at what greeted their eyes. Roy and Riza looked completely different. Riza had dark brown hair that was lightly curled everywhere. Though the color didn't flatter her, the style was quite alluring.

Roy's hair was slicked back. It was the same dark brown color as Riza's except it had grey accents coming up the sideburns making him look like he'd aged a few years. Falman was already sitting there at the table, not stunned in the slightest about their change in appearance.

Roy looked up at them and said seriously, "Look what all that stress over the paperwork did to me."

Roy's comment caused Riza to chuckle. She turned her gaze to the officers that entered the room. "Sit down and we will explain," she said.

They all nodded and took their seats at the long table where Roy, Riza, and Falman were already sitting. Riza stood and passed the proper folder to each of them before sitting back down beside Roy.

"We have a mission," Roy said.

"Okay, you mean a mission as in field mission?" Havoc questioned.

"I mean mission as in field and undercover mission," Roy replied.

"You mean we get out of the office and away from the paperwork?" he questioned, the hope evident in his eyes.

"That's right Havoc, we get a reprieve," Roy said.

Riza wanted to roll her eyes at the two men. She didn't understand what their issue was with paperwork. The most they had to do was skim through it and sign. On occasion, they would get a long-winded report that would require actual reading and writing; but a first grader could handle those. She thought it was quite odd that they would rather be risking their lives than filling out forms.

"Has hell frozen over?" Havoc asked.

"There is no hell Havoc. Well, no fire engulfed torment type hell," Roy said.

Ishbal was as close to a hell as anything could get. There was no way anything could be worse. He looked over at Riza and realized that he was wrong and that there was one thing. If he lost her, life would be hell. However, he doubted he would be residing in that hell very long if that were to happen.

"Can we please start discussing the mission?" Riza questioned, her annoyance being expressed through her tone of voice.

Roy coughed to break the awkwardness. "Yes let's get started. As you can probably guess, all of you will be accompanying us on this mission. In those folders are your identities. You need to memorize every detail that is in them." They all opened the folders that they were given.

"Sara McMantis," Rebecca read aloud. "Bodyguard and personal assistant to Ava Wayne. I assume that is you, yes?" She directed her gaze to Riza.

"Yes," Riza said.

"Jesse McMantis, bodyguard to Tyler Wayne. Wife is Sara..." Havoc trailed off as he read who his fake wife was.

Havoc and Rebecca looked at each other with alarm, and then they directed their gazes at Roy and Riza. Their eyes were wide with shock clearly displayed within them.

"WE ARE MARRIED?" They yelled.

"That's right," Roy said. The other occupants in the room snickered. Those two being married was like trying to mix oil and water. It just didn't blend effectively.

"The Wayne's like having other couples around them," Riza said.

"But. . . Married to that harpy?" Havoc exclaimed.

"Harpy! Well its better than being married to a cancer stick wielding smoke factory!" she snapped.

"That's enough!" Riza ordered vexedly, shutting them both up.

"Rebecca and Havoc, that's quite a pairing," Breda said, with a laugh.

"I wouldn't be laughing Breda. The Wayne's also have a couple of gay bodyguards."

He paled and flipped open his folder. "No way! I'm not gay!"

"For this mission you are!"

"With who?"

Falman and Fuery quickly flipped open their folders. Fuery sighed with relief as Falman groaned.

"I'm the chauffer," Fuery said.

"Aww crap," Falman said.

"But Falman's not even my type!" Breda protested. Everyone in the room looked at him strangely.

"That didn't come out right," Breda said, in a mumble.

"It's not like you're really gay, so deal with it," Riza said.

"Besides, what have you got against gay people anyway Breda?" Roy questioned. He had to admit to being amused at his reaction. He really wouldn't want to play a gay man either, even though he had nothing against homosexuals.

"I don't have anything against them! I just don't want a ... a ... butt buddy. Not even a pretend one!"

"Butt buddy?" Everyone except Riza exclaimed. She wasn't fazed over the name. Having many gay friends, she was used to the term.

"You've never heard that term?" Breda questioned.

"No!" Everyone except Riza yelled in perfect unison.

"It's a common term." Riza said.

"Common? Butt buddy is a common term?" Havoc questioned with a shocked voice.

"Yes, now let's just move on," Riza said.

"What's this mission that will cause us mental damage? We are going to have to undergo a lot of counseling after this is over."

"You're telling me," Havoc muttered, earning a growl and a sharp look from Rebecca.

Riza and Roy started telling them about the mission details. They explained how it was going to be used to catch Peak engaging in the children-selling scheme he's masterminding. If they caught him in that, then they could use the other evidence they found in the search to convict him of other crimes. This would result in his imprisonment and maybe even execution.

"We are going to spend a few days with Mr. and Mrs. Wayne to study their mannerisms. Then we are going to their casinos in Creta to study the environments there and get to know their home like it was our own. They've ordered everyone there to treat us as if we are the Wayne's, so fitting in won't really be much of a problem. We are going to make ourselves seen a bit more by the locals and such so they can get the idea of what we look like. Mr. and Mrs. Wayne tend to hide from the public so we can use that to our advantage."

"There's something that bothers me about this. Why would two known criminals come here when they are wanted for murder among other things? Why would they care about Peak?" Rebecca questioned.

"They are supposedly trying to turn over a new leaf. They want pardon here in Amestris. The fuehrer promised them a pardon of all crimes for their participation in helping us catch Peak," Roy said.

"I see," she replied.

"If there are no more questions, then this meeting is over. You are to memorize those files until you almost become those people. There are also mission briefings in the envelopes that should answer any more questions that you may have. Also those files are not to leave headquarters," Roy said.

They all stood and saluted.

"At ease," Roy said.

Havoc walked over to Roy and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey chief, we are all going to go to the bar. Want to come along?"

"Sounds good, I could use a strong drink to help me relax."

"Don't drink too much sir," Riza said. "I don't want a midnight phone call asking me to come and pick you up."

"Don't worry Lieutenant. None of us will get drunk ... right?" Roy asked, directing a glare at the men, who all nodded.

"Well Lieutenant Hawkeye, the invite extends to you and Lieutenant Catalina as well."

"No thank you," Riza said.

"Oh come on Riza! I want to go and I don't want to be alone with all these men. They might try to take advantage of me!" Rebecca said. The men began filing out of the room. Havoc walked over to the door and turned his head to look at her.

"Only if we were into bestiality," He said and left.

"WHAT? I'll show you beast when I cut off your ..." Rebecca's voice trailed off as she left the room.

"Your friends are insane," Roy said.

This caused her to turn to him. "Not all of them. Just Rebecca," she said.

"Ah, I see. So Lieutenant, are you coming for that drink?"

"I suppose sir. I don't want Rebecca and Havoc to kill each other before the nights end. Then we'd have to find more people for the mission."

Roy laughed and nodded. "Well at least they fight like a married couple," Roy said.

"That's true," she replied.

"Now, let's get to a bar and find a drink that can get alcohol tolerant Hawkeye plastered."

"Not going to happen sir,"

--

They arrived at a local bar/restaurant and found a booth against the wall, Rebecca making sure Riza sat beside Roy. Rebecca smiled inwardly that Riza and Roy were sitting beside her in the middle of the half moon shaped booth. She looked over at Havoc and he grinned at her slightly. It was customary that they always made sure this was the seating arrangement when they all went out.

The waitress walked up to them and they made their orders. They all made small talk until their orders arrived, all of them opting to go ahead and order dinner with their drinks. Riza was the only one that didn't choose an alcoholic drink. There really wasn't a point in drinking it, if it had no effect on her. The more interesting talk began once their orders had been placed on the table and their waitress left.

Havoc attempted to whistle as a busty red head walked by, but the crackers he'd been eating prevented him from doing so.

"That my friends, is what I call a good looking woman," Havoc said after his mouth was void of the salty soup accompaniments.

"Maybe, if you like girls who have to be admitted to mental wards for a broken nail." Rebecca commented. She hated how men based everything off looks. At least with her she went for looks and money. She could always fix their personality in one way or another.

"Now, that's a hell of a man right there," Rebecca said, pointing at a really tall slim man with light brown hair. He was wearing a grey suit with a black tie. His fedora was tilted a little to the side. "Look wise only, since I don't know his personality." Or his bank account, she added mentally.

"If you like scrawny guys that couldn't throw a rock without breaking his arm, sure," Havoc said. "He probably hires someone to wipe his ass too."

"Lieutenant Havoc please," Furey said, trying to eat some dinner he ordered.

"I agree, please refrain from speaking about wiping when people are trying to eat," Riza said, taking a small bite of the sandwich she ordered.

"Chief, what do you think of the little red haired number?" he asked, motioning to the red haired woman in question.

"Also, women are people Havoc. Not, 'numbers,' as you call them," Riza said. She then realized how futile it was to scold him since the blond second lieutenant was clearly not listening to her. He was awaiting Roy's answer, in fact, she too was curious about how Roy would respond.

"I don't like red heads," Roy said, sipping his drink, feeling Riza's inconspicuous gaze on him. "And I want someone who actually likes to read something other than romance novels and do more than paint her nails."

Riza wanted to growl at the people around her. How could they possibly know that was what those people were like? They were making their assumptions based entirely on physical features. That girl could actually be a brain surgeon for all they knew. She looked over at the girl who was examining her knife as if she didn't know what to do with it. Okay, maybe not a brain surgeon ... And what the hell was wrong with reading romance novels? She got most of her sexual technique ideas via romance novels. She made a mental note not to tell Roy that fact. If she did then she would eventually run out of room for books and Roy would go broke. She chuckled to herself. The next question brought her catapulting from her musings.

--

"What is your type, then chief?"

"Anything that has boobs and can read," Riza commented, trying to alleviate the anxious feeling in her stomach. She didn't want to hear Roy's answer. Yes, she was his wife but still... What if she wasn't what he liked physically? The group, even Roy, laughed at her comment.

"Whoa, Hawkeye made a joke," Breda said.

She turned her head and pointed her hazel gaze toward him. "Yes, I do have that capability Breda." "Answer the question sir," she said, turning to look at Roy. "Sorry for the interruption."

"It's no problem Hawkeye. Your interruption was quite amusing. Remind me to pay you back for that later though." She knew what he was getting at and that potential payback was something she was actually looking forward to.

"Is noted sir," she said with a small smile.

"Well chief? What's your type?"

"Well, depends on what she's for?"

Riza and Rebecca looked at him as if he'd lost his head. Riza wanted to smack him. How could he say that? What in the hell did he mean by that?

"What do you mean what she's for?" they both questioned. Roy almost cackled out over the two women's identical looks of shock. He paid close attention to Riza's expressions. If he answered this wrong then he would most likely be sleeping alone for a long time. However, he wasn't going to answer incorrectly. It wasn't a matter of describing what he wanted. All he had to do was describe what he already had. He had to describe the characteristics in Riza.

"Do you mean just a date or long term as in wife material?"

Both Riza and Rebecca were relieved at finding out he didn't mean what they thought he did.

"Both," Havoc said.

"Date wise I don't care; as long as she's remotely good looking I can deal with her. Oh, and as long as she can do more than just giggle," he said. "As for a wife. . . A wife has to be smart, she has to be loyal, supportive, and she has to be stern at times. Looks are a plus but when you fall in love with someone, it should be about more than that. You have to get along and know how to compromise or everything you have will be for nothing. Don't you think so Hawkeye?"

"Very well spoken sir," she said.

"Whoa chief! Does that mean that you've put thought into settling down?"

"Those are what I figure almost every man wants in a wife. I can say that I haven't thought about marriage," he said. He hadn't thought about it because he already was married.

"I do think you just described Riza there in those wife characteristics." Rebecca teased.

Riza shot her best friend an evil look, wordlessly telling her to shut up. Rebecca just shot her a wide smile.

"Hawkeye as a wife? That would be weird. No offense Hawkeye but I can't really picture you as a wife," Havoc said.

Riza really wanted to shout that she'd been a wife for a long time but knew she couldn't. One of the best parts of her life would be if, or when, she ever got to reveal that she and Roy were married. She was going to be all catty and gloat to all those women who hit on her husband. It was going to be a beautiful day indeed. She would stick that damn ring on her finger and make sure it shined brightly, catching everyone's eye. Just for spite! Riza almost pictured a little her in her head sitting at a desk typing out all the gloating methods she could think of. She laughed inwardly at the mental image.

"Fine, enough about you men and your preferences," Rebecca said. "Time to hear what we girls think. What do you think of the man I picked out Riza?"

Riza snapped from her thoughts and looked at the man Rebecca had picked out earlier. "He's not my type but I can see you with a guy like that."

"So now we get to the same question Havoc asked the Colonel. What's your type? First, look wise."

Roy blinked. He never knew Riza had a type. When did she ever have time to pick out a type? He wanted to know exactly what Riza wanted in a man. Was he what she wanted or was there some trait he was missing? He listened as closely as he could, hoping nothing whatsoever interrupted Riza.

"Why is this important?" she questioned.

"Because… well I don't know!"

"Then there's no need for me to answer."

"Aw, come on and play along Lieutenant. I am curious," Havoc said.

"Yes, go ahead. I answered the stupid question," Roy said.

Riza sighed and looked at Rebecca. "Look wise first right?"

"Yes," she affirmed.

"I like men that look like they work out, stronger looking men, just not Armstrong extremes. That's too muscular. I like darker hair, and I don't like really tall men. I like them taller than me but not by too much."

Roy tried not to let a smile appear on his face. She'd just described him. However, he'd never describe himself as muscular even though he did work out quite often. It took his mind off Ishbal for the moment.

"How about personality wise?

"I like hard working, goal oriented men. Their goals can't be all about them though; it has to be for the greater good of others as well. I hate a conceited man, that's a huge turn off. They have to be smart because I want to be able to speak intelligently to them and not have to explain what I mean every ten seconds."

"And?" Rebecca prompted.

"That's all I can think of," Riza replied.

"Don't want much do you?"

"I'm simple."

Rebecca had too many qualities she was looking for in a man. That was probably the reason she hadn't found anyone yet. If she would just stop looking for the perfect man, she might see that the blond across the table from her was her perfect match. It was the same for Havoc. If he would get those leggy airhead preferences out of his head, he would see that Rebecca was the right girl. The two fought like cats and dogs but Riza knew there was an underlying affection there.

Roy had noticed it too and had spoken about it a few times. He swore that someday those two would end up together. They made a good team, as evident from their little pairing antics.

Havoc and Rebecca always used those little tricks to get her and Roy closer together; like the bench trick for instance. The two would always make sure they sat next to each other, thinking they didn't know what they were doing. They were well aware that the two Lieutenants wanted them together. Havoc and Rebecca were of the same rank and in different divisions so the fraternization laws wouldn't apply to them.

"Guess that counts the chief out."

"Why would you say that Havoc?" Roy questioned.

"She said conceit was a big turn off," Havoc teased.

"You mean if he had a chance in the first place," Riza commented. Roy's face faltered over her reply to Havoc.

"The way I look at it, he has a better chance than you do Havoc," Rebecca said.

"Oh?" Havoc replied.

"Yes, because she also said she wanted someone who's hardworking, goal oriented, smart and someone that can speak intelligently. You are wrong on those four necessary qualifications."

"I don't like smokers either," Riza said. "Then again, I wouldn't look at Havoc that way. He's more like a brother."

"Yeah, same here. It would be like dating my sister," Havoc said. "Incest isn't my thing," he joked.

This caused everyone at the table to laugh.

"That's good to know Havoc," Roy said.

--

Roy couldn't stop laughing as he and Riza arrived at their apartment building. He was very happy that he'd gone to dinner with the group. It had proved to be very entertaining.

Riza was happy that he was laughing but was quite annoyed over the cause of the laughter. She didn't think bodily harm to anyone was that amusing.

A guy at the bar had actually hit on Rebecca, much to her absolute glee. The guy had been just her type (tall and breathing). Unfortunately, for both the health of her love life and Havoc's reproductive health, Havoc had been a bit drunk... okay… he got plastered. He'd swung an arm around Rebecca's shoulders and told the guy that if he was asking Rebecca out then he must be into bestiality, because she was a hell of a bitch.

The comment caused the man to look at them with disgust and walk away. For doing this, Havoc he got a painful present from Rebecca. If Havoc had a sex life, it probably would have to have been placed on hold. Fortunately, he didn't have one so it won't be a problem.

They entered the building's elevator and Riza waited for the doors to close and for it to begin its ascent before speaking to her husband.

"It wasn't that funny Roy," Riza said.

"It was too," he replied. "I thought you were the only woman in the world that could punch like that! That was classic! It will be engrained in my memory for a long time to come. It made Havoc talk like a little girl all the way home."

"Yes, you may find it funny but I bet poor Havoc doesn't. Can you imagine going without sex for an extended length of time? He'll probably have to do that now because of the results from that punch."

"Havoc does that anyway," Roy said. "He doesn't need an injury to his man organ to keep him from having sex."

"No and neither do you. You just need a woman that's not willing to give it to you. Or more accurately a wife that's not willing."

Roy's face turned pale over her words. Surely, Riza wouldn't do that. Sex was like a drug to most men, himself included. He knew it sounded crazy but he could almost swear a man went through some kind of withdrawal symptoms when going long periods without it. Once again, though, since Havoc rarely ever got laid in the first place then he shouldn't go through any of those symptoms.

"Too bad you don't have an unwilling wife," she said. Whom was she kidding? One kiss behind her ear in that oh so special spot would make her knees turn to jelly and her stomach flutter. She enjoyed it just as much as he did, though she would never admit it. However, she could go without it much easier than he could.

Roy pushed the stop button on the small elevator and grinned. "I did promise that revenge at the restaurant right?"

"No sex in the elevator," she stated bluntly. She knew that was what he'd been planning straight away when his hand reached up for that button. She would nip that in the bud right now.

"Oh come on," Roy said. "Its late, no one will catch us. Plus, aren't we supposed to play the part of a loving couple when we play the Wayne's? This is perfect practice."

"Sex in an elevator is practice?"

"Yes," Roy said. "The Wayne's are a very touchy clingy couple. This would be excellent practice."

Riza sighed and walked over to him, she pushed him against the wall and pressed her body tightly against his. She lowered her lips to brush his ever so slightly, causing a smirk to appear on his. It soon faded as the elevator started to move once again. He looked over at the resume button to see Riza's hand on it.

"No," she whispered and kissed him quickly before the door opened and she walked out. He sighed and followed her to her place. She unlocked the door and walked inside, him following. After discarding their coats on the hangers at the door, Riza turned around and Roy put his hands on her sides and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist, knowing that most likely the muddy boots that she wore were dirtying up his uniform.

"How about a shower?" Roy questioned.

"If you would put me down I would like to take a bath."

"Well, we could do that too."

"We?"

"Yes, we."

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_**AN: Okay, here's the kicker. Shorter chapter than last chapter but I am already working on the next one. Please drop a review my way. I hope you enjoyed this. **_


	33. Getting To Know You Pt 2

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 33: Getting to Know You Pt. 2**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA **

**AN: I really wanted to put the actual mission in this but decided against it because of the chapter's length. As a result, you guys get two chapters this month, one this week and one a bit later in the month. I thank you all so much for being so patient with me through this story and I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

* * *

**Getting To Know You Pt. 2 **

Riza frowned as she pulled in the parking lot of the ritziest hotel in Amestris that resided just outside of the Central City Limits. Ava and Tyler Wayne were in protective custody there. It wasn't' surprising they chose such a place to stay since they were incredibly wealthy.

Riza and Roy got out of the car and walked through the doors and into the hotel. Riza instantly wanted to walk right back out. She felt really out of place in the hotel. It was much fancier than what she was used to. She liked the small inns around central, they were much cozier and less, arrogant looking (if one's location could be deemed as arrogant).

She was extremely out of her element, which made her incredibly uncomfortable and uneasy. She sighed inwardly, she knew that if she wanted to play Ava she would have to adapt to the foreign mannerisms and environments surrounding her.

She tugged on her long black skirt and straightened out her white dress shirt the best she could. Though she looked very nice, compared to everyone else loitering in the lobby, she looked like a pauper.

She turned to look at Roy who was, not surprisingly, completely at ease. He'd always been a bit more used to the finer things in life than she had. His family was rather wealthy so maybe he was used to being in places like this. Maybe he grew up going to places like this before he came to the Hawkeye residence for training.

Riza spotted a woman sitting on the couch in the far corner looking at Roy. The woman smirked at her as if saying she wasn't worth his time. Riza wished that she could go and knock the woman out for obviously lusting after her husband.

"You ready to go up?" she heard his voice say. She looked at him and nodded. They made their way over to the elevator and after it closed, Roy pressed the button that would take them to the top floor. Riza sighed with relieve at being out of the lobby.

"You look beautiful," he said, catching her off guard with the comment. She looked at him with a light blush on her cheeks.

"Thank you," she said, steeling her voice so that he wouldn't know that she was nervous. However, she had a feeling deep inside that he already knew and that was the reason he said it.

The door to the elevator soon opened and they both stepped out and made their way down the hall to giant white double doors. There were two military guards guarding the room. They tensed when Roy and Riza walked toward them. They showed the guards their military IDs. They opened the doors and let the two officers inside the hotel suite.

Riza thought she couldn't have been more uncomfortable than she was in the hall, but she couldn't have been more wrong. She wanted to turn tail and run because of this room. She'd faced serial killers, been shot at, went through the Ishbalan war; yet she wanted to run away because of a fancy room. She realized that she was indeed, an odd human being.

The room that they were in was completely white with gold accents. How anyone could live in a room like this was beyond her. While she was tidy, she wanted somewhere where she could be comfortable and not worry about dirtying anything beyond possible cleaning. Then again, the Wayne's didn't clean this place, the maids did. The floor was white marble with gold swirls in it; the walls were white with gold specks. She adjusted the collar of her blouse in discomfort.

"Well I am personally insulted," a voice said. Roy and Riza looked in the direction of the voice and saw a brown-haired woman standing in a doorway. Her hands were on her hips and she was frowning. "They picked someone prettier than me to play me."

Riza studied the woman, who was obviously Ava Wayne, carefully and frowned inwardly. As if she wasn't already feeling bad about herself, she felt even more so now. Ava was a bit thinner and had much much bigger breasts than she did. She was wearing a low cut red halter-top and a white skirt that fell to mid-thigh. Everything about this woman was gorgeous. Riza couldn't' help but feel intimidated by her looks. She never found herself to be attractive so when she met beautiful women that low self-esteem she thought she hid so well, came at her full force.

She turned to study Roy for a moment. He didn't seem to have any kind of significant reaction over the woman before him. He didn't show any attraction toward Ava whatsoever which surprised her slightly. Maybe he was hiding it so he wouldn't make her feel too bad. Maybe he really wanted that woman more than he wanted her. She instantly squashed that idea, and felt horribly ashamed that she thought of it in the first place.

The woman walked further into the room and circled Riza, seemingly inspecting her from head to toe. Riza stiffened slightly upon her inspection and knew that by now Roy knew for sure that she was nervous. Ava moved to stand in front of Riza and smiled. "I would give anything for your figure," she said with a sigh. "You've got such lovely curves."

Riza was thrown for a loop over the comment. Most women wanted to be as skinny as possible yet here was this gorgeous woman saying she wanted to be curvier. She extended her hand for a handshake. "Ava Wayne, nice to meet you."

Riza shook the woman's hand. She wasn't really expecting Ava to be so calm and friendly. "Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye," Riza replied. "It's nice to meet you too."

Ava nodded then walked over to stand in front of Roy. She stared at him for a moment and then walked around him, looking at him the same way she studied Riza previously. Riza really wanted to growl at the woman. If she touched him, she would get her hand broken.

"You're as good looking as my husband," She said, moving to stand in front of him once more. "Tell me, what color is your natural hair?"

"Black," he said.

"Wonderful," she said and followed with an appreciative whistle that made Riza want to deck her. "Do you happen to have Xingese blood in you?"

"Yes, my mother is full Xingese and my father is quarter Xingese."

"Lovely!" she said extending her hand. "Ava Wayne."

"Colonel Roy Mustang," he said, shaking it then letting go. He knew Riza wouldn't be pleased about a long handshake.

"My husband's parents were both half Xingese. He didn't inherit those beautiful black eyes and hair like you did. You do have very very lovely eyes."

"Thank you," he said a bit unnerved by the compliment.

Riza had often told him how beautiful they were and how she loved staring into them, especially as they made love. Because of that reason he was uncomfortable when someone else made a comment about them. He felt like staring into them was something that only Riza should have been privy to do. He laughed inwardly at the sentimental emotion but it was true enough.

Ava turned her gaze back to Riza and flicked her thumb at Roy. "You're boyfriend is something else," she said.

"He's not my boyfriend," Riza replied. "He's my commanding officer."

"Oh, get off it. You are talking to a con-woman remember?" Ava said. "Oh, to the outside world you two seem perfectly innocent. Nothing more than a commander and subordinate, but I've been conning people since I was fifteen years old so you two don't fool me for a second.

"Like I said, I don't know what you are talking about. I will admit that we are friends outside of work, but we aren't dating," Riza said. The woman really did get it wrong after all.

"Ya huh," she replied with a nonchalant wave of her hand, signifying that she was dismissing everything Riza said. "Don't worry you two. Your secret is safe with me. My main goals are to get this hiding over with, be pardoned of my crimes here in Amestris, get back to Creta, and adopt some children the proper way.

A whistle came from behind Roy and Riza and Ava narrowed her eyes. They turned to see a man they guessed as being Tyler Wayne. He looked Riza up and down then whistled in appreciation at the sight. This time it was Roy's turn to have jealously rear its ugly head. He really wanted to set the man on fire for looking at his wife the way he was.

"Wow, she's quite the looker. Hey Ava honey, why don't you go with that guy and let me keep her here," he said with a smirk that was oddly similar to Roy's. The comment caused Roy and Ava to fume, Ava outwardly and Roy inwardly. It wouldn't do good to let his jealously show. Riza however was blushing at the comment. Very few men other than Roy had ever complimented her on her looks. Roy was a bit carked at her reaction.

"That was very rude honey; you've probably made Riza very uncomfortable."

"Oh? Like you weren't making that guy uncomfortable with his very nice eyes comment," he snapped.

"Well he does have them," she protested.

"Yes and I think Riza here is hot," he said. "Nothing offensive whatsoever in that comment, right?" he questioned, looking at Riza for backup.

Riza tried to hold back the blush that she knew was becoming even more visible on her face. "No, there was no offense taken," she said.

"See? That is unless her boyfriend here is offended," he said, directing his gaze at Roy.

"I am not her boyfriend so it's not my place to be offended," Roy answered.

"Whatever," he said with a sigh. "Anyway, I suppose you are supposed to be me."

"Yes, that's right," he said.

"Well, you will have to do. It's hard finding someone as handsome and debonair as I am. No offense," he said to Roy, taking his hand in a handshake.

"None taken," Roy replied. "Even if you are wrong."

This caused Ava to cackle out laughing. Riza wanted to laugh at Roy's response as well but refrained from doing so.

"Well, at least he has your conceited attitude down pat," Ava said and walked to stand beside Riza. "Looks like the two of us have more in common that I thought we would."

"You mean having to put up with two arrogant asses on a daily basis?" Riza questioned bluntly.

"Yes, exactly," Ava replied.

"Hey!" both men protested.

Ava grabbed her purse from a side table and then grabbed Riza's arm. "Let's go," Ava said, pulling her to the door.

"Where are we going?" Riza asked.

"Well, you need to get to know more about me right?"

"Yes but-."

"Well what better way to find out about a person than shopping."

"You always find a way to spend money," Tyler said, but not seeming upset about it.

"Well we have it to spend and I only make a small dent in our income. It's an excellent tax write off as well. We will see you boys later!" she said, Riza leaving with her hesitantly.

Roy blinked at how everything happened so quickly. One minute they are all talking, the next Riza is gone with Ava and he is there alone with Tyler. Soon the man brought him out of his thoughts.

"So…" Tyler started.

"Yes?"

"You play pool?"

Riza wanted to cringe as Ava led her into one of those high-end clothing boutiques that resided on Central's Upper East Side. Just one outfit in the store would cost Riza more than she made in a day. They looked no better than the outfits she bought from the cheaper stores near her home. The only differences in the clothes there and the clothes in her present location was that here they were brighter, more revealing, and more expensive. For the third time that day, Riza wanted to rush out of a location, never to return.

Riza sat down on a bench in front of the window and let her gaze focus on Ava. She was bouncing from clothing rack to clothing rack happily, looking through the many outfits that hung upon the metal holders. When she found one that she liked, she would drape it over her arm.

Riza sighed. The entire purpose of the visit to them was to learn more about them, to see how they acted around each other, and to get their views on each other. The purpose wasn't to shop for clothing.

Ava currently looked like one of those little rich girls who wanted to act in movies and sing but had no talent for doing such. Their only gifts were shopping and carrying around those little annoying ugly rat looking dogs that wore collars that cost more than what she made in four years. Of course, it was apparent that Ava actually had brains. She had to be intelligent to have gotten away with the things she had.

Riza blinked in surprise as someone suddenly blocked her line of vision. She looked up to see Ava looking down on her, smiling brightly. She didn't like the way it looked. It looked like the smile Edward Elric wore on his face when he got an evil idea. It was a smile that made a bad feeling develop in Riza's stomach. If someone smiled like that, it usually meant that they were up to something and Riza had a strange feeling she knew what Ava was planning.

Her suspicions were confirmed as she found a bunch of clothes pushed toward her. She had to grab them to keep them from falling in the floor.

"What the…" Riza was greatly confused by what the woman was doing.

"If you want to act like me then you have to look the part. These clothes are my treat."

"I can't let you do that," Riza protested. She couldn't let the woman spend this kind of money on her nor could she really be caught dead in these clothes.

"Of course you can! I love shopping for people and I am loaded you know."

"Yes, you are loaded all right. But I don't know what with," Riza muttered. She looked down at the clothing and sighed. She knew there was no use arguing with her on this. She studied the clothing in her arms. The pieces were things that she would never buy for herself; things that she would never wear in everyday life. Her eyes drifted to the tag in one of the shirts and she was quite surprised.

"How did you know my size," she questioned.

"Oh, I sized you up in the hotel room," she said, as if it was the most normal thing to do.

"Now let us see how these will look on you. I am so jealous of your curves. Oh, but I think that I mentioned that already right?" she said.

Riza nodded. She might as well play along. She did have to act like Ava after all. Riza stood up and made her way to one of the dressing rooms, Ava following behind her happily. Going inside, she hung the clothing on the pegs that lined the bright blue walls of the small stall.

"You have got to be kidding me?" Riza muttered, staring at the clothes. Did Ava really dress like this every day? She remembered what Ava was currently wearing and that mentally gave her an affirmative answer to her question.

Roy would enjoy the short and clingy clothing but she wouldn't. While she hated to admit it, the outfits were quite lovely but there was no way in hell she could pull off wearing such clothing. Especially not the halter-tops. She couldn't show off her tattoo.

"Mrs. Wayne, there's no way I can pull these off," Riza said.

"Don't call me Mrs. It makes me feel old. Call me Ava," she said. "And my guess is that Roy will be the one most likely pulling them off at the end of the day. Therefore, pulling them off won't be too much of a problem."

Riza blushed at Ava's comment, and then glanced back at the clothes. "You know full well that's not what I meant," Riza snapped.

"Oh, so you aren't denying that Roy will be the one pulling them off of you?" Ava teased.

"No… I mean… yes I am denying that. I told you he's just my friend and commanding officer," she said.

"Yes, all right, whatever," Ava said. "And I am a nun. Now try on those clothes."

"I don't have the body for clothes like this."

"If you didn't have the body then they wouldn't be in your size. Just try them on and stop complaining," she said, the humorous tone obvious in her voice.

"Fine but I refuse to wear these tops. I can't and there are reasons why."

"Oh? What reasons are those?"

"Personal reasons," Riza said in a tone that said, drop the subject. Ava blinked with surprise. "All right… no halters. How about just sleeveless."

"As long as they don't show my back," Riza said.

"All right then. Sit tight," Ava replied.

Soon, Ava walked past the curtains and handed Riza several shirts. "Here you go. Tell me if those won't work," she said, with a wide smile. Riza was surprised she didn't argue more over the shirt issue.

"Now do your job Lieutenant Hawkeye," she teased, and left the dressing room.

Riza sighed and undressed. First, she grabbed a blue short-sleeved top and slipped it on. After that, she slipped on the white miniskirt. On the right side of the skirt, a beaded blue embroidered flower attracted what Riza deemed "unwanted attention" to the area. That is, if the beaded design at the very bottom of the neckline of her shirt didn't direct eyes there first.

She turned and looked into the mirror expecting to look like a slut. She loathed admitting that she didn't look half-bad. She wouldn't be wearing this as Riza Hawkeye, but she wasn't as uncomfortable as she thought she would be in the clothing.

"Come on out," Ava said. "Let's see how you look."

Riza slowly came out of the dressing room and Ava smiled at her. "See? You look like a hot momma in that."

Riza raised an eyebrow at the woman. "A hot momma?" she questioned incredulously.

"Yes," Ava said, as if she'd spoken nothing strange at all.

"Go try the rest on and then we have to go grab some shoes at the shoe store."

Riza sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that day, before going back into the dressing room.

"You want to know about my wife?" Tyler questioned as he lined up his pool stick with the white ball on the table.

"Yes, I need to know about her. What I should be annoyed with that she does. How should I act?"

"You do know this Peak bastard has never met us right? Never even seen us," he said. "The only people that know we are us are our bodyguards."

"Yes, I am aware of that. However, he may have heard the rumors about how you two act or may try to get us hung up on something so we have to act as closely to you as possible." Roy said.

"I see," Tyler replied, making his pool shot.

"My wife… is a …"

"A?" Roy prompted when Tyler trailed off.

"A nagger," Tyler said. "In fact, if there was a sport of nagging she would be the undisputed and undefeated champion." When I talk to your wife, I need to be sure to tell her that. Just so she can nag you effectively and on a regular basis."

"My wife? Lieutenant Hawkeye isn't my wife," Roy said.

"Girlfriend then," Tyler said.

"She's not my girlfriend either," Roy replied, picking up his drink and taking a big sip.

"Fuck buddy?" Tyler questioned.

That comment caused Roy to choke on his drink. He started coughing and tried to get air in his lungs. Finally, he managed a deep breath and stared at Tyler, eyes widened.

"She is not a "fuck buddy," as you put it," He said.

"You know, I heard so much about the playboy, war hero, and flame alchemist Roy Mustang when I lived here. I had to keep a good watch on Ava because she wanted to find you and see if the rumors were true. Now that I see you with that Lieutenant of yours, I can see that they are probably highly exaggerated."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because of the way you act around her. When I made those comments, you wanted to tear my head off. Right? Don't worry; it probably wouldn't be obvious to anyone else. It's just like I overheard Ava say. When you've been in the business of conning people the way we have, it becomes easily noticeable when others are conning you.

"We aren't conning anyone," Roy said, getting frustrated with how persistent this guy was.

"No? So pretending to be something that you are not isn't conning?" Conning means to deprive by deceit. It is clear to me that you and the Lieutenant are more than just friends; however, you are hiding it behind your roles of commander and subordinate. My guess is that it's because of the military fraternization laws. Whatever the two of you may be, you are conning people into believing something by being deceitful."

"I won't grace your hypothesis with a response," Roy said.

"I don't need a response for something I already know," Tyler retorted.

Roy sat his glass down on the table behind him and bent over to make a pool shot. "Very well. Believe in whatever illusion that you want if it makes you feel better," Roy said.

"I'll do that," he replied. "Now what else do you need to know?"

"Whatever can help me understand you a bit more. Things about your wife I should be annoyed with, other than the nagging."

"Let me think for a moment," he said, taking another shot and knocking the green five-ball into one of the corner pockets of the table. "Not much to say about myself. I like to play pool. Despite owning a few casinos, I despise gambling. I suck at poker and I like to ride horses. Oh, and I love making love to my wife."

Roy looked at him and chuckled. "Yes, most people do," he said and paled instantly when he realized how that sounded. Tyler looked at him and it got uncomfortably silent until he laughed aloud. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded." Roy rectified.

"Yeah, I know," he said, still laughing. "I just love it when people get their words twisted. It makes for a good laugh. "

Roy bent to take the last shot then stood as the balls went into the holes in the table. Tyler blinked.

"I win," Roy said.

"Good game. Do you play pool often?"

"No, that was my first time," Roy said with a smirk. "I've read books on it. If you look at the game in trajectory and other mathematical terms it's quite easy."

"Only a state alchemist would bring math into a pool game," Tyler said, going back over to the bar and getting himself another drink.

After a lot more shopping, Ava and Riza stopped at a small cafe. Luckily, Riza knew the place and was quite comfortable there.

"So, I suppose you want to know about that husband of mine. So you know what to get annoyed at if your honey does it."

"My honey?" Riza questioned.

"Your Roy," she said.

"How many times do I have to tell you that he's not my Roy?"

"You couldn't tell me enough times to make me believe it," she said.

Riza sighed inwardly. "Fine, believe what you want. There's nothing I can do about it."

"Right," Ava said. "Now, what do you need to know about me exactly?"

"Well, I am guessing that your hobbies include shopping," Riza said.

"Yes, that's right. I also sew, love to dance, and sing. I love any alcoholic drink, and I adore coffee. The stronger the better."

Riza frowned. She hated alcohol. "I see. Now tell me about your husband. Little quirks he may have and things of that nature.

"Well, he taps his fingers on things, he hates to work, and he always has sex on the brain. It's like it's at the forefront of his mind all the time."

Riza blinked. Tyler sounded just like Roy.

"He is stubborn, a pervert, and incredibly jealous. If a guy so much as looks at me the wrong way, he wants to have them shot. However, he'll never admit it. But aren't most husband's like that?

Riza nodded. "I suppose," she said, although she was inwardly screaming about how right Ava was. Roy didn't often admit to being jealous but she could tell.

After they had a bit of lunch, they made their way back to the hotel. Riza and Ava went up to the suite and entered the room, to see Roy and Tyler playing pool.

"Oh lord, he's got your honey playing it."

"He's not my honey," Riza snapped but knew it went ignored by the woman beside her.

"It's called pool Ava," Tyler said, the frustration sounding in his voice.

Ava looked at Riza. "How something that has nothing to do with water got the name pool, is beyond me," she said with a sigh. "I'll be back in a minute."

She took her bags into a nearby room. Riza had already deposited hers in the car that she and Roy came there in. Riza walked over to the two men and watched as they played the game. She never remembered Roy mentioning he knew how to play pool.

Soon, Ava emerged from the bedroom wearing a pair of white slacks and heels instead of the skirt she previously donned. She walked over to her husband and kissed him passionately. Roy and Riza suddenly found the pool table very interesting.

Ava pulled away and laughed at the two. "You two know that if you want to be convincing as us you will probably have to be more affectionate than what you are, right? Now let's see you two give each other a huge kiss."

"Don't push it," Riza snapped.

"Ooo Grumpy!" Ava laughed.

Riza was confused over her feelings toward Ava. One minute she liked the woman, the next she wanted to take out her guns and shoot her. She'd never had mixed feelings regarding her opinion on a person before and she wasn't pleased having them now.

Riza growled and grabbed Roy's pool stick from his grip. She walked around the table keeping her eye on the white ball. Everyone stared at her with surprise that she was actually going to play. She lined up the pool stick with the ball and struck. It hit one ball causing it to hit the others. They all knocked into the holes in the corners. She smiled softly as she stood up straight, satisfied with her shot. Considering she cleared the table, it wasn't surprising that she was so pleased. Well, that, and the fact she made the other occupants in the room look as if their jaws were unhinged.

"You…play…pool?" Roy questioned, shocked that he didn't know that about his wife.

"Yes, I learned in academy," she replied.

"What a woman," Tyler said. "You are a lucky man to be married to a woman like that."

Ava glared at her husband.

"We are not married!" they both snapped.

Ava coughed and grabbed Roy's arm. "Your turn!"

"His turn for what?" Riza and Tyler questioned at the same exact time.

"Shopping of course!" she said. "Can't wait to see Roy here in a designer suit."

"God Ava, we can just give him mine. Don't drag the man into those torture chambers disguised as suit shops."

"You're clothes would be too small. Roy's buffer than you are!" she said. Tyler turned white at his wife's words.

"Buff...buffer..."

"We'll be back later," she said with a wave as she dragged Roy out of the room.

"Should I be angry at that?" he asked, turning to Riza. She was shocked at his sudden recovery over Ava's comment but didn't show it at all.

"I have no idea," she said, keeping her outward demeanor calm. Inside she was rather pissed at Ava just dragging her husband off like that.

"So," he said in a simple, lighthearted manner. "What do you say we go out and have some fun?"

"Out?" Riza questioned, with surprise.

"So I suppose my husband has told you all about me right? Mostly the things that get him annoyed."

"Yes," he said.

"So what did he say?"

"Can't tell," Roy said.

"What? Why in the hell not?"

"Because it wouldn't be right," Roy said.

"You act like there's some kind of man code or something," she muttered.

"What?" he questioned, not quite hearing what she spoke.

"Nothing, it's noting. I should tell you about my husband. Since he probably didn't tell you about his faults right?"

"No, he didn't," he said.

"Sex," she said.

"I beg your pardon?" he questioned.

"He likes sex. Has it on the brain most of the time."

"I see," he said. "Well I don't see that as a fault really. Most men like sex. It's nothing abnormal. In fact, most human beings in general like sex. I mean, look how often it takes place in conversations."

"Are you saying you think about sex all the time when it comes to your baby cakes?"

"My baby cakes?" he questioned with confusion. What an absurd term that was. He had to admit, this woman's form of talking was quite . . . unique.

"I mean Riza of course," she replied.

"Okay, I really wish you two would stop insisting that Riza and I are anything more than-"

"And I wish you two would just stop denying it. It gets tiring trying to trick you two into admitting it."

"Yes, and we get tired of you trying to get us to admit something that isn't true," he retorted.

"Fine," she muttered. "Well, where was I?"

"You were talking about your husband; his faults to be specific," Roy reminded her.

"Right. Well, let's see. Oh! My husband is very jealous when other men hit on me though he doesn't outwardly show it. He just gets…touchy. I don't mean emotional touchy either. I mean literally touching; arm around the shoulders, waist, that sort of thing. "

"And you are the same toward your husband?" he questioned.

"I don't get jealous," she said.

"I am sure you don't," Roy said, not believing what she w as saying. She saw the way that she was when Tyler when he hit on Riza.

"I know that tone and I don't get jealous! I know my husband would never cheat on me so there's no need. "

"So he has a reason to be jealous with you since you might cheat on him."

"No! You are twisting my words! OOOO Tyler does that and it really really grates my temper? I would never cheat on my honey bun!" she said, appalled. Then as soon as the anger appeared, it was gone.

"Honey buns?" Roy questioned, extremely confused.

"Yes! Tyler is my honey bun!"

"Um… I guess I should make a note to tell Riza to make up silly nicknames for me."

"Nicknames? What silly nicknames?" she said as she went into the suit shop as if she really didn't think the names she used were weird.

"Never mind, Riza probably already knows to do that," he said to himself before going into the shop.

Riza had never been to one of these places in her life, and she really hadn't planned on ever going. These places were fairly new to society and had gained popularity quickly, especially among the younger generation. Though she was still in her mid 20's, she felt a bit too old to be here.

She sighed. This day was getting stranger by the minute. First, she had to pose as a flighty looking big mouth yet good-natured woman. Then she went on a shopping spree with said woman getting clothing that she'd only wear while playing the part of Ava. Finally, she was here at this place and, oddly, being very entertained. Roy couldn't take her out like this because of the frat laws, and it wasn't likely he'd take her here to begin with.

Tyler sang the final words of his song, finishing off the catchy tune. He smiled widely at Riza. "Your turn to sing one!" he said.

"No, um… that's not necessary," she said. There was a knock on the door and Riza turned toward it as it opened. One of the workers at the place stepped inside.

"You two having a good time?"

"Yes, a very good time. I am just trying to get this little lady to sing," Tyler said, motioning his head to Riza who was sitting on the dark green couch comfortably.

"Well miss; it is a karaoke bar after all. You are supposed to sing."

"Yes, I suppose so," Riza replied, really not interested in doing so.

"Well, what can I get you two to drink?"

"A bottle of your best Vodka," Tyler said. "That all right?"

"Yes, that's fine," she said, not thirsty or intending to drink any of the alcohol.

"Very well sir," the worker said, leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Well, you going to sing?" Tyler asked, extending the microphone to her.

"Um… give me a minute," she answered.

"All right? So until that guy brings us our drinks, I should tell you about Ava's habits. The ones that she'd never reveal herself."

"I suppose," she said. "Well, I told your husband …" he trailed off when he got a glare from Riza that could strip paint. "I told your commanding officer that I'd tell you that you have to know the maximum way to nag to get the optimum effect."

"You act like that is a profound ability that I need to learn," she said.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"How do I say this? Well, all women have a capability to nag. Some of us just use it more than others and some are just better at it."

"I wish my wife would grow out of her nagging gene," he said tiredly. "Day in and day out its nag nag nag. If it's not about my clothing, it's about how I like to sleep late and my lack of work ethic. Really, there's not much work for me to do to have much of a work ethic about."

Riza really wanted to cackle out in laughter. It wouldn't take too much work when it came to arguments and being a couple. She didn't' think the two criminals would be so much like Roy and her. Though she was almost nothing like Ava personally, Roy and Tyler had a lot in common, making their charade slightly easier.

"Well, what else?"

"She doesn't understand my masculine needs," he said.

"Masculine what?" Riza questioned.

"My masculine needs," he repeated.

"Oh, sleep, food, and sex," she said with understanding.

The worker chose this time to walk in the room with the bottle of vodka and two glasses sitting on a tray.

"Here you are," he said, sitting the things on the table. "Enjoy." He then promptly left the room, shutting the door behind him.

"And drink," Tyler said, opening the bottle and pouring the vodka into the two glasses. "Drinks are definitely a masculine need for quite a bit of men." He picked up both glasses and extended one toward Riza. "Drink up!" he said. "Maybe it will loosen you up enough so you can sing."

Riza blinked, she didn't want to "loosen up" as he put it. All she wanted to do was get this day over with, go home, and take a nice hot bath.

"I don't drink," Riza said.

"Aww, come on. One drink isn't going to hurt you."

That was true, one drink wouldn't hurt her, and neither would ten or twenty drinks. Alcohol was a waste of time on lousy tasting stuff that had no effect. Still, she might as well be cordial and have at least one.

She took the glass from his hand. "All right," she said.

"That a girl. Remember though, Ava never hesitates when she's offered a drink. Everyone knows that about her. She likes to get buzzed and sometimes plastered. The problem is that she get's affectionate when she's drunk."

Riza took a sip of her drink. "Figured you'd like that."

"Not when there's other men around I don't," he said.

"I see."

"Now, what else about Ava. . . She's …" He smiled softly. "I love my wife very much."

Riza smiled softly at the comment even if it was basically a change of topic. He went from complaining about her, to saying how much he loved her. It was really sweet. "Yes, I can tell."

"And you love Colonel Flamer," he said.

She laughed at the name. "Ye…Yes I love him," she said, laughing inwardly. She just had to set the man up.

"HAH HA! You just said you love…"

"Purely platonically," Riza said, causing Tyler's face to drop. He chugged down all of his vodka before pouring himself another glass.

"You are quite a woman Riza," he said. "Quite a woman indeed."

"Where in the hell are those two," Ava questioned, pacing back and forth. "They should be here by now."

What's the matter? Jealous?" Roy questioned, sitting back on the couch. After a torturous round of suit shopping, they were back at the suite awaiting the return of Riza and Tyler.

Ava turned and glared at him. "Nooooooooo. I trust both of them it's just… humph. Well aren't you the least bit worried that they haven't returned yet?"

"No, I'm not. Lieutenant Hawkeye is a capable woman. She can handle herself and it's none of my business what she chooses to do and not to do." Roy tried to convince her of that. Riza was able to handle herself but that didn't keep him from his worry.

"You are furiously worried aren't you?" she questioned flatly, placing her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes. He wasn't going to fool her.

Roy sighed. "Yeah," he admitted.

They both looked toward the door as it opened.

"Some help would be appreciated," they heard Riza's voice say with a slight groan. Their eyes widened as Riza came through the door, one of Tyler's arms draped across her shoulders and Tyler barely able to walk due to drunkenness.

Ava and Roy rushed over to her. Roy slung Tyler's other arm over his shoulder. "Where can we put him?" Riza questioned.

"The bedroom. This way," she said, leading them into a large room. Roy and Riza laid Tyler down on the bed, and then stood straight.

"He took me to a Karaoke bar and had a bit too much to drink," she explained when the other two looked at her questioningly.

"Figures," Ava said.

They were surprised when he opened his eyes and looked at Ava. "Hey heart sweet. Now back we are," he said, drunkenly.

"Yes, I see that."

"Singer quite Riza is," he slurred.

"I am sure she is. You should have known not to get so drunk though."

"I'm drunk not," he said then passed out.

Ava started to laugh. "I'm surprised he made it this far."

Riza turned to her. "Sorry about this. I didn't know he'd drink so much."

"No problem at all. Now you know my husband better from this experience. Now some of our people at the casino in Creta are waiting for you to give you a crash course in the casino business. I think you two will do very well."

"That was quite an experience," Roy said, as he and Riza walked into her apartment with the bags of things Ava insisted on purchasing for them.

"Yes, I wasn't quite expecting them to be so… not criminal like."

"I agree. They don't seem like the types that would con and kill," he said.

Riza looked down at the floor and carried her bags into her bedroom. Roy noticed the odd look on her face and followed her.

"Riza?" he questioned as he walked in.

"We don't look like murderers," she said. "But when you get right down to it, that is exactly what we are."

"Riza, what's with the sudden mood change?"

"It's nothing," she said, as she started taking the clothing out of the bags and sitting them on the bed.

"Riza," he said stopping her hand from doing so.

"Being near those two," she started. "It's been quite a wakeup call, so to speak."

"A wake up call?"

"Yes," she said. "It made me realize that no matter how we act we are always hiding something. We are always conning people. Maybe not for an evil reason but it is a criminal reason. Fraternization is against the law, plain and simple.

"Tyler told me that," Roy said. "He said he didn't believe that we had a purely platonic and business relationship and that there was no way to convince him otherwise."

"So you agree that we are conning?"

Roy sighed and sat down on the bed. He then flopped down on his back and smiled at her. "I think we are of course, but there's no getting around it. We are breaking the law but there's a good excuse for it. It's a stupid law."

"Just because a law is stupid doesn't mean it shouldn't be obeyed."

"Are you saying we should break up?" he questioned, with a smirk on his lips. He knew that she hadn't meant that, but asked anyway.

"No, that's not what I am saying," she said. "I just, I don't know. I guess the fact that I actually like Ava and Tyler is confusing me. I am military, supposed to be against all people like that. Even despite the fact that they want to start clean, so to speak."

She lifted her skirt and straddled his waist, resting her hands on his chest. "I just feel odd with everything that has happened."

"It's not just us who has secrets Riza," he said, moving his hands to her hips. "Everyone has those skeletons in their closet. Everyone at one time has pretended to be something they aren't; they've been deceitful. It's normal. Of course, I am sure that you already knew that. You just aren't thinking straight because of the downright odd day right?"

"Yes, I suppose you are right," she said. She smiled at him. "I'll feel better after…" Her words were cut off as Roy undid her shirt from her skirt and slid his hands under the soft white material, to cup her breasts, causing her to groan.

"Feel better after what?" he questioned, sitting up and kissing her quickly before pulling back. Their lips weren't apart very long as Riza brought her lips back to his in an openmouthed kiss. He pulled away and leaned her back kissing the middle of her neck.

"Um… depends on you," she said, her thoughts about a hot bath long gone.

"I like the sound of that…" Roy rested one hand down on the bed and found that he'd gripped something that wasn't the bedspread. He let go of her causing her to fall back into the floor. She sat up and growled as Roy held up the item in question.

"Riza I think you got one of Ava's outfits by mistake," he said, while studying the miniskirt.

Riza blushed. "That's mine," she said.

Roy's smiled widened. "Really?" he said. "Can I see you in it now or do I have to wait until the mission?"

Riza stood up and dusted herself off. "You would have gotten to see me in less than that if you hadn't dumped me in the floor," Riza snapped, walking toward the bathroom.

"Wait! What about what we were doing?"

"Handle it yourself," she snapped.

Roy's face dropped as he threw the miniskirt back on the bed. "But Riza!" he protested, following her.

"You and Tyler really are almost exactly alike," she said. Masculine needs my ass."

"Yeah, and it's such a nice-" The bathroom door slammed in his face.

"Ass…"

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_**AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you don't mind all the original content before I get back to the manga/anime. Next chapter is the mission. Thank you all for your patience and please drop a review my way. **_


	34. The Mission Begins

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess **

**Chapter 34: The Mission Begins  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist **

**Author's Note: Though Roy and the others will be calling each other by their mission names, I have the descriptions using their normal names to avoid confusion. You will see what I mean when you read. I hope that you enjoy the chapter. I got a few complaints about the last chapter being too long so from now on you will get updates a bit more frequently with shorter chapters. That way no one will find the reading to be taxing. Also school has started back so now I won't have much time to type really long chapters so shorter chapters multiple times a month will be much easier for me as well. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter. **

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**The Mission Begins  
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Roy pulled Riza closer to him as they drove to the Peak residence in Drachma. True to Ava's word, they were given a crash course in the casino business from Ava and Tyler's "people." Both Roy and Riza found it surprisingly difficult. They'd always foolishly thought they had one of the harder jobs but the stress of Ava and Tyler's life was just as difficult, if not more so.

"You look hot," Roy said, bending to whisper in her ear. She hadn't worn these clothes during their time in Creta so this was the first time Roy was getting a good look.

Riza sighed. "Thank you," she said, a bit miffed. Did women always have to dress like this to get a man to say that she looked hot? It really made her think about what exactly Roy wanted her to look like and if she really fit into what Roy wanted in a woman. Why couldn't he compliment her like that when she was dressed more modestly?

Roy took in Riza's appearance from head to toe. She was wearing six-inch heels that elongated her beautiful tan legs, a short black skirt, and a white low-cut shirt. Her dyed hair was piled upon her head revealing her neck and the gold chain she wore around it. He stared at her face as she stared straight ahead and noted that she wore a frown upon it. He was quite worried about the facial feature.

"What's wrong Riza?" he asked.

She turned and put a fake smile on her face. "It's nothing, just preparing myself for this charade," she lied and hoped he didn't see right through it.

"Oh? All right, if you say so," he said, not believing her for a moment. He knew she was lying and he would find the underlying cause of it when they got back to Amestris. The car stopped for just a moment before beginning to move once more. They guessed that they'd probably arrived at the residence and had to go through a checkpoint at a gate or something to that extent.

"You ready for this Ava?" Roy asked, using the name that he was to call her for the week that they would be there.

"Of course, honey buns!" she replied, in an enthusiastic tone that made her want to rinse her mouth out. Roy laughed and kissed her quickly.

The car came to a complete stop and they heard the door on the driver's side open. They waited for a moment before the door on Riza's side of the car opened. Furey was standing there in full chauffer uniform; it surprisingly suited him very well, making him look very much the part of an elegant chauffer.

He extended his hand toward Riza and she took it as she got out of the car. She gazed at the door of the house to see two men staring at her. They were in grey suits with white shirts and red ties. Aviator sunglasses covered their eyes. Roy got out of the car and glared at the two men whose eyes were on Riza. He wrapped his hand around her hips, daringly low, just as Tyler would do, and then pulled her closer. The rest of their team got out of the other car and walked over to them. Roy and Riza led the way to the two men standing at the door.

"We are Tyler and Ava Wayne. We are here to see Mr. Peak about some business. I believe he's expecting us," Roy said.

"Yes, he's expecting you. However, you will have to be searched first."

"You know we have guns already. Don't you think it would be rather stupid of us to travel without them," Roy snapped as he caught the one on the right looking at Riza's body instead of paying attention to his words.

"Oh dear, settle down. I am sure these men have orders that we have to be searched from Mr. Peak. Right boys?" Riza said, pulling away from Roy's grasp. She walked around the two men, swinging her hips just as Ava did when she was studying Roy. "I mean they have jobs just like all of us right?" She stopped in front of them and fixed her hazel eyes on them.

"Yes…yes Ma'am-" the man on the left said.

"Ma'am?" Riza said with a pout, placing both hands on her hips. "Do I look that old?"

"No, Ma'am …I mean Miss…I mean Mrs. Wayne," he stuttered.

"Tyler!" Riza exclaimed, rushing over to Roy. She jutted out her bottom lip and Roy laughed inwardly at how well Riza was doing with the acting. She even had him believing she was really like that for a moment. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his. "Do I have wrinkles? Do I look old?"

Roy wrapped his arms around her body and kissed her on the nose. "No you don't have any more wrinkles than you had on the day we met so long ago. You are still as beautiful as always." She smiled brightly, pulled away from him, and turned toward the guards once again. She was surprised when Roy slapped her on the ass roughly. Riza had to tell herself that Roy was acting and that Tyler would have done the same thing. She turned her head to look at Roy. "I'll pay you back for that tonight," she said, smiling mischievously.

Roy grinned. "Looking forward to it!" Really, he wondered exactly what she was going to do. Hopefully it would be a good payback. Maybe something like Ava would do to Tyler.

"All right, look you two goonies," Rebecca said, walking up to them. "I am Mrs. Wayne's bodyguard and I really don't like the way you are acting toward her. It is my job to protect her both physically and from any mental trauma that one may cause. Mr. Peak knows we are coming. He told us that we would be led straight inside with no searches. Now if you two perverts don't do so this instant I won't be responsible when your man organs, which contain what little brains you have, get shot off."

Both of them bowed quickly before going inside.

"This way," one of the men said.

Rebecca tossed her hair behind her shoulder and stepped aside to let Roy and Riza enter first.

"Good luck," she whispered as the two walked passed. She followed behind Riza as Havoc followed directly behind Roy. Falman and Breda stayed outside with Furey and helped him park the cars that needed guarded. Peak was a cruel man and one could only wonder what he would order done to those vehicles if given a chance.

They couldn't let their guard down around the man. He wasn't known to kill his "business" associates: at least not when it came to this type of business. According to the contract methods, he didn't receive his money until the couples were safe and sound at home. According to the other investigators, all the suspected couples, with the children he sold them, were still alive.

The group followed the two guards up a large set of marble stairs to the second floor. They made a large circle around and took yet another set of stairs. It almost reminded Roy of the castle that he'd visited in Xing when on vacation. The stairways were a bit wider but other than that, the similarities were uncanny.

They came to two large shiny oak doors that seemed like they radiated ill will to anyone that ventured beyond them.

"I will tell Mr. Peak you are here," one of the men said, knocking on the door.

"Enter," a deep voice said. One of the guards entered the room, shutting the door behind him.

Visions of what Peak could possibly look like streamed through Roy's head. The military had very little information on the appearance of Peak. Like the Wayne's, he chose to remain out of the public eye, and let his employees do all the dirty work. Investigators estimated that Peak was in his late forties early fifties so Roy figured he would have a bit of grey hair. He envisioned a tall burly man like in all those mobster movies he watched in the theaters. He figured the guy would have a cigar in his mouth and say something along the lines of; I'll make you a deal you can't refuse.

Riza wrapped her arm around his waist, leaned toward him, moved her lips up to his ear, and whispered, "Don't let your imagination run away with you."

Roy was shocked but showed none of it via outward expressions. How did she do that? She always seemed to know what he was thinking even though he didn't show a hint of it. He would have to ask her after all of this was over.

He was brought from his thoughts as one of the oak doors opened and the guard came out. "Mr. and Mrs. Wayne, Mr. Peak will see you, but only you. Your guards will have to wait outside."

"I refuse to wait out here when anything could hap-"

"It will be fine Sara. We will be out in a bit," Riza said, turning around and smiling brightly at her "bodyguard."

"Yes Mrs. Wayne," Rebecca said with a frown.

"Jesse, make sure Sara behaves herself," Roy said turning to Havoc.

"As if this husband of mine could make me do anything. Including him!" she snapped and glared at Havoc.

Riza and Roy shook their heads and turned toward the door. "Just behave you two and stop it with the love bickering. You can settle the entire who is dominate issue when you get to your bedroom," Roy said.

It was wonderful to have the opportunity to tease Rebecca without having to hear that banshee yell of hers. After all, she couldn't bite back at the moment otherwise she would give up the cover and Rebecca was too good of an officer to do such a thing.

Riza gave a loud fake laugh and hit him roughly on the ass, causing him to go toward the door. "Oh sugar muffin! You are such a pervert! An absolutely filthy lecher!" Roy growled inwardly at the hit that Riza gave him. He could feel that she was actually angry for the comment instead of amused as she pretended. He had a feeling that he was going to be bitched out over that when they got to their own bedroom. Well, it looked like no sex for him tonight. She walked up beside him and grabbed his arm. "Let's go in snicker doodle," she said with a giggle that actually freaked Roy out a bit. Riza was really good at playing the flighty airhead type. He sighed inwardly. Since his sexual fate for that night was pretty much determined, he decided to have a little fun and act more like Tyler.

"All right, hot ass," he replied, loudly. She squeezed his arm really tightly and he had to grit his teeth to keep from yelling over the pain. Her thumb was pressing right down on the blood vein at his wrist causing his entire arm to hurt. He was pretty sure Ava never did that to Tyler and that the move was 100 percent pure "Riza is fucking pissed."

They entered the office and heard the door shut behind them. The office was exactly how Roy thought it would be. The walls were covered with dark paneling and the floor was dark hardwood. The office light was a yellowish color and fell mostly on the papers that littered the desk. There were dark maroon couches made of leather against the wall on both sides of the door. A bookshelf sat against the wall that was behind the desk. Also behind the desk was a dark brown leather chair that was turned toward the bookshelf in true mobster and fully dramatic fashion. They knew Peak was sitting in said chair.

Roy and Riza's hearts started beating the moment the chair moved slightly. Their heartbeats increased in speed the more the chair turned in their direction. They could almost hear the repetitions over and over again. Thump...thump . . . thump... Then, they finally came face to face with Francis Peak.

Roy had to will himself not to crack out laughing and Riza clamped her jaw shut to keep it from dropping in shock. The most wanted man in Amestris; no, the most wanted man in the world, looked like . . . Santa Claus. He had a long white beard, thick white hair and a bright eye color that almost sparkled in the light. His nose and cheeks were rosy like a cherry. He had a pipe in his mouth, the smoke rising from it and filling the air with a mixture of peppermint and tobacco that was quite pleasing to the senses.

He stood and laughed making Riza and Roy want to laugh aloud once more. He even had the same laugh and body type that the fictional Santa Claus had. It was extremely hard to believe that this man was a cold-blooded killer and involved in the other crimes he was. He looked like he'd be giving presents to kids, not kidnapping them for ransom then selling them. Francis Peak was the perfect example of appearances being deceiving. Also, it looked like the investigators had been wrong about his age. He was definitely older than late forties early fifties. He was probably along the lines of late sixties early seventies.

He approached Roy and held out his hand for a handshake. "Francis Peak, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Tyler Wayne and it is a pleasure to meet you as well sir," Roy replied, shaking the man's hand firmly.

"Oh please, call me Frank," he said. "Sir is much too formal."

The man let go of Roy's hand and turned to Riza. He looked her up and down and Riza found it hard to keep herself from tensing up or wanting to punch him. She didn't like to be studied so closely by strange men, especially old ones. She flashed him a smile that Roy could tell was completely forced.

He bowed slightly at Riza. "I think its save to assume that you are the little Misses?"

Riza extended her hand to him. "I am Mrs. Ava Wayne, yes," she said, making it clear she wasn't to be called "little misses."

He took her hand and kissed the top of it lightly, staring in her eyes as he did so. The man before her no longer amused her. She'd recognize that look in his gaze anywhere. She'd seen it in Roy's eyes enough times when he wanted to have sex. It was a look filled with pure lust. However, his carried with it something Roy's didn't: malice. Riza made a mental note to stay close to Roy. Despite being excellent at defending herself, she didn't know what kind of chance she'd have against a heavyset man like Peak who was known for treachery to begin with. Yes, this man was definitely everything that the rumors said he was.

He let go of her hand and reached up to remove the pipe from his mouth, exhaling the mint smelling smoke into the room. He quirked his lips slightly after it was all expelled.

"I am sure that the two of you are tired from your long journey. So what do you say we skip business for now? I have put you and your people in the best suites my hotel has to offer. I do hope they meet your standards."

"I am sure they will," Roy said, putting his arm around Riza's waist and pulling her close to his side. She was shaking ever so slightly. Indicating that something had spooked her. Though she would deny any shaking in the slightest if he brought it up. He began stroking her body lightly with his fingers, then tapping her sides where he knew she was a bit ticklish. She didn't let the tickly feeling show on her expression as Peak walked past them and to the door and opened it. "I am horribly sorry that I cannot attend to the business at the moment or ride with you to the hotel. Some emergency business has popped up unexpectedly and I am needed. I am sure you understand. You are quite a busy couple yourselves. I can have my chauffeur drive you to the hotel if you'd like.'

"Actually we've rented our own suite of cars so as to not impose on you," Roy said.

"Well, my hotel is the largest and only hotel in the town down in the valley. The people at the desk were told that you were coming and are expecting you," he said.

"Thank you," Riza said.

"I would like to arrange to have dinner with you tomorrow evening to discuss what you would like in my…merchandise. We have two new darling children in our inventory," he said.

Roy smirked, trying to hide the anger festering inside him that threatened to burst forth. He actually wanted to kill the man before him but they had to catch him in the act before doing anything. The way this bastard spoke of children as merchandise, was absolutely low.

"Sounds fine, we look forward to doing business with you. Of course we have some questions before the merchandise is handed over and the transaction complete."

"Of course, I will answer any questions that you may have for me. Until tomorrow evening then," he said extending his hand to Roy. Roy shook it, and Peak let go to extend his hand to Riza. Once again, he lifted it to his lips and kissed her hand, making her want to saw it off. He grinned at her but once again, Riza could see the lust in his eyes. She forced another smile and pulled her hand away with a bit more force than necessary. If Peak noticed it, then he wasn't letting on.

"Forgive me for not escorting you to the front door," he said.

"It's quite all right," Roy said and guided a slightly uneasy Riza from the room.

Rebecca made a point to glare at Peak's guard before turning to Riza. "You ready to go Ma'am?"

"Yes, let's go," she said.

"Did she behave herself Havoc?" Riza asked, turning to the tall blond.

"Other than making the guard nearly piss himself in fear, yes." Havoc said.

"I did not!" Rebecca snapped as the four of them made their way out to the cars.

"What's going on?" Breda questioned in a low tone.

"He's putting all of us up in his hotel downtown," Roy said.

"Let's get out of here," Riza stated.

As per the charade, Fuery opened the car door and let Riza inside, Roy following shortly after. The others got into the other car. Furey got into the driver's side of the vehicle carrying Riza and Roy, turning on the motor and pulled out of the driveway, heading toward the city.

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**AN: I hope that you enjoyed this. Originally the entire mission was supposed to be in this chapter but due to the length I am breaking it up. Next chapter will come in a week or two. Please review.**


	35. A Small Hot Reprieve

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 35: A Small Hot Reprieve**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA **

**Note: January 15 2010: Had to edit this significantly because of some parents complaining that their 12 year old read it. Seriously, the rating is M… which usually means no one under 16. I hate parents that don't wan to do their jobs. Best Kept Secret UNCUT will be on a website very soon. Sorry for any way the quality of writing has suffered in this chapter. Title doesn't really fit anymore. Seriously, if you are under 16 and reading this, at least make sure your parents are okay with it.  
**

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**A Small Hot Reprieve **

Roy scooted closer to Riza in the car as they rode to town. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him tightly.

"You all right?" he questioned. "I felt you tense up back there and that's not like you at all."

"It was the way he looked at me that made me a bit nervous. I will be fine though," she said, trying her best to convince Roy of that when she wasn't completely convinced that her nerves would calm. That look he gave her had sent foreboding chills throughout her body.

"The way he looked at you?" Roy questioned.

"Lustfully," she elaborated. "I honestly don't get how women like Ava can wear clothing like this, knowing men stare at them all the time that way. It just doesn't make sense as to why a woman wants to look like and seen as a sex object. I mean, I know most men prefer it but it shouldn't matter. Women need more self-respect than that. I mean even you like me better this way," she said.

"Who said that?" he questioned, shocked at the statement.

"It's nothing," she said. "Forget I said it."

"No, I won't forget you said it. What do you mean I like you better this way?"

"You've never called me hot before," she said. "You did this morning."

"But I always find you hot and sexy. This morning I just told you to boost your confidence. In all actuality, you could be wearing a burqa and look sexy."

"Liar," she muttered.

"It's true!" he insisted and hugged her. She tilted her head to rest on his shoulder and snuggled closer.

"You are still lying but it's a very sweet lie."

"I'm not lying," he replied, looking at her. "Riza, I want you to stay closer to me during this mission. I don't want you alone with Peak for even a second."

He was a bit unsure if that was the proper way to word his thoughts, but it was the best way he knew how. He didn't want it to sound like an order but yet, that was what it was. Sometimes it was difficult differentiating from his husband protective side and the side of the commanding officer who wanted to make sure his subordinates was as safe as possible.

"I understand," she said.

Roy was surprised that she'd agreed so quickly. He was used to Riza arguing with him over his tendency to be overprotective during missions or just during everyday life. Peak must have actually spooked her and that in turn made him fearful. It wasn't everyday that someone had that kind of effect on Riza.

He stared at her for a bit longer before he moved his lips down to kiss her cheek, causing her to turn her head toward him and smile softly. He grinned back and moved his lips down to kiss her neck. He expected her to lean away and to scold him, so he was surprised when she tilted her head so he could gain better access to the area. He ran his lips down the length, kissing and nibbling at the skin there. Riza squirmed slightly as he kissed up her neck and behind her earlobe. He bit her earlobe and in turn, that caused her to bite her lips to keep a groan at bay. He continued his attentions to that area until she finally had to push him off and scoot far away from him.

"Riza? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, that's the problem," she said. "You did everything right. Every single damn thing." She shifted in her seat, moved closer to the door, and further away from Roy. She turned her gaze to him to see that he was absolutely bewildered.

"You did everything right," she repeated. "That's why you'd better do everything right when we get back to our hotel room."

A look of realization appeared on Roy's face and she smiled.

"I got you hot and bothered," he said in a teasing tone.

"You act like you're proud of that fact," she said, not denying the validity of Roy's comment in the slightest.

Roy scooted closer. "I am of course," he said.

"Roy, please just stay away right now. At least until we get to our room. Then you can have whatever you want. Roy grinned and moved his hand up her leg and under her skirt. She shifted trying to get him to remove his hand on his own. As it slid further up under the black material, she found that she honestly couldn't find the strength to remove his hand with her own.

"Roy, don't," she said, her mind inwardly longing for him to touch her there; anywhere he wanted.

"Don't what?" he questioned with a smirk, as his hand stroked the band of lace that was at the top of her underwear. His hand was in an awkward position, but she knew that it didn't matter to him. As long as he could gain access to his goal, it wouldn't be a problem at all.

"Roy, no…" she said, shifting again then finding the strength to take his hand and pull it away.

"Come here," he said, pulling her on his lap. She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. They felt the car slow down and Roy moved his lips to her ear. "I'll make you feel really good as soon as we get into that hotel room," he said and kissed her lips quickly.

Riza just nodded in response to his comment: not trusting herself to speak. She got off his lap, straightened her skirt, and tried to calm her breathing. When the car came to a complete stop, the door opened and Riza stepped out, Roy following quickly after.

Fuery handed the keys to the parking attendant as he retried his bag that was in the front of the car. A bellboy retrieved Roy and Riza's baggage from the trunk of the limo and carried it inside. Roy, Riza, and Fuery made their way into the hotel before the others. Roy walked to the front desk and spoke to the woman working there. He retrieved the key to the suite he would share with Riza, as well as the suite where the rest of the team would be staying.

He shot the girl one of his well-known, irresistible smiles, causing her to blush. Riza walked over to him, grabbed Roy's arm, and glared at the girl. The girl's eyes widened with fear and she quickly looked back down at the check in book.

Riza was in a foul mood. She'd just finished meeting with a pervert who looked like he wanted to grope her, she was dressed very uncomfortably, and she was incredibly horny. And that horniness resulted in her being a bit more jealous than usual. Her current feelings and circumstances weren't exactly desirable to her and she wasn't that pleased with them.

Roy on the other hand was quite amused with the situation. Furey probably thought she was just acting out her part as Ava, but Roy knew that wasn't entirely true. Riza became extremely possessive when she was turned on. However, she usually didn't show this possessiveness outwardly. He reasoned that now that she posed as Ava she could do so without any consequence and would use that to her full advantage while in the guise. Usually her possessiveness was exemplified by the amount of paperwork she'd give him to keep him from meeting one of those contacts or one of those airheads he took out to keep up his playboy persona.

The others soon came into the hotel and Roy handed them the keys to their suites. Falman, Furey, and Breda would stay in one, while Rebecca and Havoc had another. She hoped for Havoc's sake that there were two beds in that suite. Otherwise, he would get to know the floor or couch really well.

Rebecca grabbed the key before Havoc could take it from Roy.

"You'd only lose it," she said with a glare.

Havoc sighed and lit his cigarette, thankful that Rebecca didn't mind cigarettes. If he had to go the extent of this mission without nicotine, he wouldn't have been responsible for the murder of one Rebecca Catalina. It was taking all the self-restraint he had now, not to put his hands around her neck and shake it until it cracked.

Roy and Riza sighed and motioned for the bellboy to bring their bags. The bellboy went over to the elevator with them.

"Whatever," Havoc said in response to Rebecca's words. He waved off the bellboy that was going to help him and walked over to where Roy and Riza were waiting for the elevator. Rebecca growled in a low tone and followed him.

Falman, Furey, and Breda looked at each other, sighed and made their way over as well. If the frat laws hadn't been in effect, they honestly wondered how long it would be before the two started dating. Despite the arguing, the two seemed to balance each other out in similar ways: just as the Lieutenant and Colonel did.

The elevator opened and the group, along with the two bellboys, got into the elevator. As it began its ascent, one of the boys hit the stop button on the elevator console.

"What's the meaning of this?" Roy questioned, angrily.

"Colonel Mustang, I am Sergeant Jack Owens and this is my partner Sergeant Nate Swinger," the bellboy that stopped the elevator said. "We are part of your backup."

"Ah, I see. They said that we'd have backup here at the hotel," Roy said.

"Also your maids are Warrant officers Lena Jewel and Julie Lawson. There are several more officers posted around the hotel and they will find ways to let you know whom they are. We thought this would be the best place to notify you of our identities. Security for this hotel are our agents as well so the camera's here in the elevator are merely looping everyday footage back until we begin the ascent once more. If Peak sees them then he just think it was an average everyday elevator ride," Sergeant Swinger said.

"Also sir, it is important that you keep up this charade everywhere in the hotel except your rooms. There are security cameras everywhere."

"Did you make sure there wasn't any in our room? Peak strikes me as a voyeuristic pervert."

"We did search the rooms with electronic devices and our own eyes. Nothing is there."

"Fine work," Roy said.

"Thank you very much sir," Sergeant Swinger replied.

"Any new information on Peak?"

"Afraid not sir," Sergeant Owens said. "We haven't been able to get access to any of his files at all, so we are going to have to catch him trading red handed. We were hoping to find some files somewhere but even our agent that is part of his entourage is clueless on where he keeps his records. The only way to find out is to capture and interrogate him. However, we need probable cause for arrest. Mere suspicion won't cut it."

"We will get what you need," Roy said.

The two Sergeants nodded and Sergeant Owens pressed the resume button to begin their ascent once more.

They soon arrived on the floor where their rooms were located and stepped out of the elevator. "Your suite is this way sir," Owens said. Roy wrapped an arm around Riza's waist as Owens guided them to a huge door. He unlocked it and carried their bags into the suite and into the bedroom. "Have a nice stay sir," Owens said, keeping up his act. Roy reached into his pocket, opened his wallet, and took out a tip for him.

"Thank you," Roy said. He and Riza entered the room and Owens shut the door behind him as he left.

Roy trailed his gaze around the room. It was almost identical to the hotel in Central where he and Riza met the Wayne's: stylistically speaking anyway. He was relieved that there wasn't any white to be seen. Instead, everything was red and gold. The darker colors made it much cozier than the suit in Central.

"It's a nice suite," he said.

"At least it's not white," Riza said with a sigh of relief. Roy turned to see her slipping her heels off and wiggling her toes. "I want to shoot whoever thought it would be a good idea to invent these things. They are like stilts."

"I want to thank him," Roy said with a laugh. Riza looked at him with surprise. "They accentuate a female's legs. Makes them downright sexy."

"So you find a woman's legs sexier if they are wearing heels?"

Roy walked over to her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and nodded.

"You know when I find a woman's legs the sexiest though?" he questioned, sliding his hands down and around to cup her buttocks.

"When is that," she said with a slight grin as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"When they are around my waist, or on my shoulders," he said with a low sexy tone.

"And how many women have had their legs around your waist?"

"Just one," he said. He backed her against the wall and kissed her, slipping his tongue into her mouth to stroke hers. She closed her eyes, and groaned kissing him back just a feverously as he was her. Her hands slipped up to fist in his hair as his hands trailed down to the back of her thighs. He pulled away from the kiss and lifted her right thigh up to his waist. She knew what he wanted so she latched that around his waist and jumped slightly so that both of them wrapped around him, and her back was against the wall.

"Bedroom," she said.

Roy nodded and started to take her to the bedroom when there was a knock on the door. "Roy, just go," she said, "fuck whoever's at the door."

Roy grinned at her. "I thought that's what I was doing to you."

"This is not a time for jokes," she whimpered with a slight chuckle lilting her voice as well.

Roy and Riza were about to stop their activities when the knocking ceased. Roy smirked at her. "Shall we go?"

She kissed him roughly as he carried her into the bedroom.

--

"Thank god there are two bedrooms. I would die if I had to share one with you," she said.

"You mean you wouldn't have made me sleep on the couch?" Havoc replied, taking a puff of his cigarette and exhaling it into the minty fresh smell of the room.

"Oh yeah, I guess that would have been an option," she said.

"Believe me, you wouldn't have had to make me," he said, carrying his bag into the bedroom on the right.

"What in the hell do you mean by that?"

"I don't want to sleep in the same bed with a colicky harpy," he yelled back.

"Why you!" she started to storm into his bedroom to strangle him but as soon as she got to the door he kicked it shut, hitting her in the nose. "OUCH!" she screamed. "I won't be able to smell for a week!"

"Then consider what I did to you a favor. That way you won't be able to smell yourself," Havoc said with a chuckle. He heard her growl and mutter several curses under her breath.

"You'd better stay on guard you chain smoking, cancer carrying dickless loser," she snapped. "Because I am going to get even with you for this."

When Havoc merely laughed, Rebecca growled and stalked off to find a dictionary so she could find out what the word colicky meant.

* * *

**AN: Now I wonder how man of you looked up the meaning to colicky. LOL Anyway, thanks for reading and please drop a review if you wish. They are much appreciated. **


	36. Scouting and Awkwardness

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 36: Scouting and Awkwardness**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA **

**AN: I am sorry for the long wait. Like all of you, I have school and other things to get done so that's the reason for the long wait. Note: One of these scenes may seem pointless, but rest assured, it will have more meaning later. Hope you enjoy it. **

* * *

**Scouting and Awkwardness**

Riza felt two arms wrap around her waist and then felt a kiss on the burn scar on her shoulder as she showered. She leaned back against him and sighed as his hands rubbed along her sides. She smiled softly at just being in his arms under the humid spray of water coming from the showerhead. She let herself relax, leaned her head back against his shoulder, and closed her eyes.

"This is what you need," he said. "Hell, I think this is what we both need."

"Did you ever find out who was at the door?" Riza questioned. "You were supposed to do that when I was in here," she said without moving from her comfortable position. Roy kissed her lips quickly, tasting a hint of soap on them.

"Yeah, it was Breda asking if I could go and get Rebecca to stop shrieking at Havoc."

Riza turned in his arms and wrapped her own arms around his neck. "Why was she shrieking?"

"Does Rebecca need a reason?" Roy questioned.

"Rebecca never shrieks without a valid reason. It's not in her character to do so," Riza replied.

"Apparently Havoc called her colicky," Roy said, laughing slightly. "Then I asked her what she did to provoke it and as usual she denied being at fault. So then I went and asked Havoc."

"And he denied being at fault as well, right?" she questioned.

"You got it," Roy replied. "Apparently she said something about making him sleep on the couch. He said something about doing it voluntarily since she was a colicky harpy. He went into his room and shut the door just as Rebecca was coming to, basically maim him. Well, now she needs ice on her nose and she screamed that Havoc was a dickless loser.

Riza laughed and leaned up to kiss him. "So what did you do?" she questioned.

"I said that at least they've established personal traits from one another and that they should continue to do so by less contemptuous and vehement means of discovery."

"So basically you confused the hell out of them so they would talk about that instead of fighting," she said.

"Yeah, pretty much," Roy said with a nod, grabbing a washcloth from the rack and putting some soap onto it. She took it from him and smiled as she walked around behind him and began washing his back.

"You know, I don't recall inviting you to join me in here," she said with a teasing tone, changing the subject to something less mission related.

"Didn't think I needed one. I thought the invite was always open," he said, sighing as he felt Riza run the washcloth along his back. His muscles relaxed at the slight pressure she was applying to the skin. He heard her laugh lightly and felt a kiss on the back of his neck.

"It is," she said. "I was just teasing. Now turn around and let the soap wash off your back," she said.

He did so and sighed again as the water hit him. He grinned at her, pulled her against him, and hugged her. "Thank you love, that was relaxing," he said. She wrapped her arms around his neck once more and kissed him softly. When she pulled away, she smiled.

"What do you say we get out of this shower and relax in a bath instead," she said. "That way we can fully relax."

Roy kissed her. "Sounds great to me," he replied.

--

Roy and Riza were sitting on the couch in the suite eating dinner from the room service tray when there was a knock on the door. Riza stood and went to answer it. Rebecca stood there with a frown. She was holding an ice pack on her nose. Riza steeled her laughter, not wanting to upset her friend.

"Come in," she said, opening the door and moving to let her in.

"Thanks," she said, her voice slightly squeaky. "I needed to get away from the nicotine absorber," she said.

"You know the colonel is in here right?"

"Dealing with him for a while is better than dealing with the idiot," she said.

Riza laughed. "We are having dinner. Do want us to order something for you?"

"No thanks. I already ate," Rebecca said, following Riza into the living room. Roy lifted his eyes to the door when Riza walked in, followed by Rebecca. He sighed inwardly. He supposed he could be nice this once if she behaved. She was injured after all.

"Sir, sorry for the intrusion," Rebecca forced herself to say.

"Not a problem. Excuse me while I continue with dinner," he said indifferently. He figured that she needed to get away from Havoc a while. Since Riza was her best friend, this would be the ideal place to do so. He was sure Havoc was fine with her not being around.

"Yes sir," she said and sat down in a chair. She cringed as she lifted the ice pack off her nose and sat it on the table. Riza sat down beside Roy, a little bit further away than she was before Rebecca came. Riza began eating her chocolate pudding as Rebecca picked up a book on the table beside her and scanned the pages. She tilted it in different directions and stared at it, a frustrated frown gracing her lips.

"Trust me, tilting it doesn't make it easier to understand," Roy commented, as he put down his fork and took a drink of water.

"I thought it might be in some kind of code. Damn, you alchemists must be some kind of superhuman freaks to be able to understand this stuff."

"I understand it," Riza said. "And I'm not a freak."

Rebecca laughed. "Who says?"

Riza turned her head toward Rebecca and glared. "What do you mean?"

"You are a freak. Just not an alchemist freak?"

Riza put down her spoon and frowned. "And how am I a freak."

"You have to be a freak of some kind Miss 99 percent accuracy shooter."

"My shooting skills don't make me a freak," she said.

"Doesn't make you a regular human being either," Rebecca said. "If I didn't know better I would say you were using alchemy."

"Are you trying to start an argument?" Riza questioned.

Roy found their bantering amusing. He'd never really seen the two of them interact since he liked to make his life as harpy-less as possible, and that meant having as little contact with Rebecca as possible.

"Of course not. You are the one that replied. You should have taken what I said and just ignored it."

"How can I ignore being called a freak?" Riza questioned.

"The colonel did," Rebecca said.

"I didn't ignore the freak comment. I just didn't want to hear you shriek if I retorted that you were a man hating harpy."

Rebecca growled but didn't say anything in response. Instead, she contemplated how Riza could possible put up with Roy the way she did. Her mind then wondered to the conversation she had with her best friend at the shooting range. Riza had clearly showed through the path of a bullet that she and Roy had …screwed. What she wondered was if it was merely a one or two off thing or if there was some sort of affair going on. Surely, Riza wasn't in love with the playboy colonel with an ego the size of Maes Hughes' picture collection. She hoped Riza was much smarter than that. After all, Roy Mustang wasn't her type. Roy Mustang was a lazy man with no ethics while Riza was a hardworking woman with more ethics than anyone at headquarters. Rebecca laughed inwardly. Of course, Riza wasn't that stupid.

"So, what was Peak like?" Rebecca asked.

"We do need to have a meeting about him don't we?" Roy said, looking over at Riza. Riza sighed and nodded. Roy finished the food on his plate and sighed.

"I'll go call Havoc and the others and tell them to come up here. Maybe I'll order some drinks from room service as well." Roy stood and walked into the other room to use the phone.

"You must be a saint to be able to stay here with him," Rebecca said.

"He's not that bad," Riza stated.

"Bet he's a pervert," Rebecca said. "I mean according to his reputation he's supposed to be."

"Aren't all men?" Riza questioned. "Besides, if he acts perverted you know what I'd do to him."

"Fuck him?"

"Yes," Riza said then covered her mouth. That was quite a Freudian slip.

Rebecca laughed loudly and leaned back in her chair. "So it is just a fuck and run affair?"

"Shuuus," she said. "I haven't discussed anything with the colonel yet." Riza really didn't like the wording Rebecca used to describe Roy and her relationship. Their relationship was never a fuck and run! Did Rebecca really think she was that type of woman? However, Riza decided that it would be for the best that her friend continued to think that way until she could get Roy's permission to tell her the entire truth.

"Oh, sorry," Rebecca said in a low tone.

"Don't worry. Just be careful when he comes back into the room."

"Will do," she replied.

After a while, Roy walked back into the room. "They are on their way up and I ordered drinks for us. You don't mind bourbon do you Lieutenant Catalina?"

"No sir," she said. "Sounds great actually."

Riza laughed inwardly. Rebecca liked any kind of alcohol.

"Got you some lemon tea Hawkeye," Roy said, surprising her. Rebecca looked at him quizzically and Riza shot him a surprised look. She wasn't expecting him to do something like that or be that thoughtful. At least, not in front of Rebecca.

"You don't like alcohol do you?" he questioned.

She smiled slightly. "No, I don't. Thank you sir for the thought."

"Did I just see some ice crack off that shoulder Riza?" Rebecca teased.

Riza just shook her head and laughed at her friend's teasing.

--

Not even a minute later, a knock on the door interrupted the silence that now enveloped the room. Roy stood, walked over to it, and opened it. As expected, it was Havoc, Breda, Fuery, and Falman. After they entered and went into the living area to sit, room service arrived. The maid's wheeled in the trays and to their surprise, the two women that did so saluted as soon as Roy shut the door.

"Sergeant Amber Caulfield," the black haired woman said.

"Sergeant Trina Casey," the blonde woman said.

"We were told to notify you that we were here if given a chance," Trina said.

"At ease," Roy said. "Thank you for notifying us of your presence."

"Yes sir," Amber said. "We have some information for you sir."

Amber lifted up her dress to reveal a garter with a gun belt. Roy pulled his eyes away from her legs as she retrieved a small brown envelope from her flesh colored stockings. She handed it to Roy, letting her dress fall back down to her shin. He took it and nodded.

"Thank you. You girls keep up the good work," he said.

"Yes sir," they said and left the suite.

Roy shut the door behind them and jumped slightly as he heard Riza's voice.

"Did you get an eye full sir?" she questioned. They were out of both sight and earshot of the others, so it was safe to speak.

"I didn't look," he said. "I turned my head."

Riza grinned. "Yes, I know."

"Hey, do you think maybe you could wear one of those and let me order you around a bit?" he questioned with a grin. His tone was low just to play it save.

"So you are into light S&M now?"

Roy grinned. "If light S&M is you in a maids outfit following orders I am. What do you say to that?"

Riza smirked. "Remind me to look for a maid's outfit when we get back to Central," she said and took one of the carts, wheeling it into the living area and out of his sight.

His mouth dropped at her words. He didn't think she'd actually agree to that. Hell, he didn't think he was really very serious. However, if she wanted to do that, then by all means he'd be happy to comply with whatever she wanted to do. Riza in a maid's outfit would be freaking sexy. Roy sighed and gripped the envelope in his hand. Now all he had to do was make sure that visual didn't pop up in his head during the discussion, otherwise, something else might pop up. He didn't think seeing him in that particular state would be that desirable to the other officers in the room.

He took another deep breath and wheeled the other cart into the living area.

--

After having a few drinks to relax, Roy opened the letter and his eyes drifted over it. He grinned and pulled out another small sheet. He leaned over and laid it flat on the coffee table. The team leaned in to examine it.

"Apparently Peak has a meeting tonight with the people that…find… him the children. It's at an old abandoned watermill about an hour west of this town."

"That means that we can catch him there and have this mission over and done with," Rebecca said.

"Hum…"

"Hawkeye?" Roy questioned. He knew that hmmm very well.

"Don't you think it's a bit too convenient? I mean we just happen to get the tip as soon as we get here. Why didn't they discover this sooner and they wouldn't have had to send us here? They could just go over and catch Peak. Something just doesn't sit right."

"You are right of course, that's why we aren't going to raid their little meeting," Roy said. "That's a sure fire way to lose any information we could get from Peak. If we just keep up our little charade a bit longer then we can get what we need for a sure fire conviction." Roy turned to Riza.

"I'd like your input on this," he said, "Do you agree Lieutenant Hawkeye? You are second in command after all."

"Yes sir, I agree with you. However, I think that Sergeants Caulfield and Casey should be sent back to Central immediately."

"Oh and why is that?"

"They broke cover," she said.

"What do you mean?" Rebecca questioned."

"They are the chamber maids," Roy said.

"Yes, they are," Riza stated.

Roy stared at her for a bit before realizing what she was getting at. "Ah, yes you are right," he said. "I'll have them retired from this mission."

"What? Why?" Rebecca asked.

"If people are observant, especially Peak's workers, then those girls could have put the entire mission in jeopardy. It's clear they aren't professionals' when it comes to undercover missions."

"Once again, I ask. How?" Rebecca stated.

"Are you really that dense-headed," Havoc commented.

Rebecca jerked her head toward him. "First of all, there's not a term dense-headed and second of all, stop acting like you are following their logic so easily when you are just as confused as I am. It makes you even stupider than what I already know that you are."

"Listen you brown headed baboo-"

"Will you two give it a rest?" Roy snapped, causing both officers to tense up when they heard the tone of his voice.

"The Sergeants are supposed to be chambermaids," Riza said to them.

"Yeah? So?" Havoc said.

"Think about it. Do chambermaids tend to deliver for room service?"

"AH!" Havoc and Rebecca said at the same time.

Riza wanted to roll her eyes at the two but refrained from doing so. It wasn't like the two were stupid at all and unless one was observant, which she figured Peak's men was, then they wouldn't notice. She prided herself on being more observant than the average officer. That was probably why a genius like Roy didn't pay much attention to it right off the bat. If it weren't alchemy or something that interested him, it would take him a while to catch it. However, when it came to tense situations she had to admit that Roy took in his surroundings and formulated things so quickly it amazed her. That was one of the reasons why she trusted improvising with him so much.

"So if one of Peak's men noticed it could possible cause them to question the two women about why."

"Yes," Roy said.

"Do you think they would give you up?" Fuery asked.

"Of course not, but Peak probably has ways of making them talk," Roy said, and couldn't help throwing a weird accent onto the "talk" line.

"You watch too many mafia movies sir," Riza said.

"It comes in handy. I would say a person like Peak tends to act like that."

"Yes, I suppose. But I've never seen a mob boss that looked like Santa," she replied.

"Looks like what?" Rebecca questioned. She wasn't expecting to hear about that stupid legend from Riza.

"Peak looks like Santa Claus," Roy replied.

"And you two are thinking of that at a time like this?"

"Believe me Rebecca, you can't help but think about it when you see Peak," Riza said. "Now, let's get back to more pressing matters."

"We have dinner with Peak tomorrow night to make arrangements and ask some questions. We are going to try to get all the information we can out of him. Then when the children are brought in, all of our agents will descend upon him like white on rice." Roy said.

"It's so simple," Havoc said. "I was expecting some daring mission type scenario."

"And I was expecting you to be less of an idiot outside the office."

"Just like I was expecting you to not look like a she-male outside the office."

"ENOUGH!" Riza snapped. "If you two don't stop acting like five year olds I am going to treat you like them!"

Everyone blinked at Riza's outburst. Usually she scolded people in more of a stern, low tone, but this time she'd yelled it like a mother whose kids were misbehaving.

"Yes ma'am," they both said in a fearful tone.

"Good," Riza said with a deep breath.

Roy chuckled and turned to Havoc. "Not everything has to be daring. Obviously that is what a lot of people expect from such a debonair man like me, but sometimes I must disappoint."

Rebecca rolled her eyes at his line. "So we are just going to wait around until you give a signal to come in?"

"That's right," Roy said. "Clean and simple."

"And what if it doesn't go all clean and simple?" Riza questioned. "Have you thought about that?"

"Then we will improvise," he said.

"I see, all right then," Riza said, having no problem with that idea.

"Improvise?" Rebecca's questioned. "What do you mean improvise?"

"Damn you are inquisitive today Lieutenant Catalina," Roy said. "Improvise means to perform without preparation, manage in a makeshift way; do with whatever is at hand."

Rebecca's eyebrow twitched. "I know what the word means. I mean that you can't risk Riza's life in there by depending on improvising."

"Rebecca…its fine. I agree with the Colonel. We can improvise easily."

"They are good at improvising Lieutenant," Havoc said.

"I see," Rebecca said, still worried for her friend and even a bit worried for Roy. She hadn't known Roy very long, in person anyway, and didn't know much about the much talked about team that he and Riza made. They both had a reputation of complementing each other perfectly when in battle. Even the higher-ups knew that it would be of the most benefit to stick those two together as well as the rest of the team. A transfer for Roy meant a transfer for every person on his staff. Rebecca was actually happy she wasn't an official member of the little gang. Mustang's team moved too much for her liking.

"Then if that is all, tomorrow night you are to have people close to the dining area where we will be meeting with Peak," Roy said.

"Yes sir," Havoc said.

"Very well, let's all get some sleep."

"Any plans until tomorrow evening?" Rebecca questioned. "Anything with Peak?"

"No, nothing with Peak. I thought Riza and I would walk around the hotel and town, check out escape routes and things of that nature. It would be a good idea for you guys to team up and do the same since we may have to get out of here separately."

"Spend an entire day with the harp…" Havoc started to speak but trailed off when Riza glared at him. "You two will go out into the town and actually act like a married couple."

"Last time I check you weren't the commanding officer and if the colonel's ideas conflict with yours then we don't have to!" Rebecca said, sticking her tongue out at Riza childishly. If it had been anyone else, she wouldn't have dared to do such a thing. She looked over at Roy who had the same stern look as Riza.

"Have fun lovebirds," Roy said, replacing the stern look on his face with an evilly amused one.

"Damn it to hell," Rebecca and Havoc muttered at the exact same time.

--

The Next Morning…

"I can't believe I have to spend the entire day with you," Rebecca said as she and Havoc made their way out of the hotel and walked toward the town. Rebecca's arm was begrudgingly locked with his. Roy and Riza had said that if they didn't act like a couple then there would be hell to pay, and she had no doubt that they would keep their word. Thankfully, they didn't have to try too hard. Just an occasional arm lock and forced smile would do the trick. The couple they were playing as was known for arguing quite a bit.

"Believe me, it's not how I want to spend a day out of my life."

"It will be even shorter if you don't stop puffing around on those cancer sticks," Rebecca said.

"At least I enjoyed it while I was living."

"No wonder Mustang takes all your girls. How do you expect to find a girl when you smoke the way you do?"

"I'll just find a girl that smokes too," Havoc said.

"Ugh, you are impossible. Okay, another point Smoking stains your teeth. You need a good smile to attract women."

Havoc grinned and shot her a smile. She stopped, causing him to do so as well. His teeth were whiter than hers were!

"How are your teeth so white?" she said, in shock.

"Amazing thing called whitening toothpaste. You should check it out. Trust me; it would benefit you greatly. You might want to invest in some mouthwash too," he said, beginning to walk again and Rebecca being dragged along. They walked down through a deserted alley to check for possible hiding places in case they were needed.

"My breath doesn't stink," Rebecca said and stopped walking. "Here, smell." She leaned in close to him and blew into his face. Suddenly their eyes locked, and before they knew what was happening, their lips met and they were kissing softly. Havoc moved his hands to cup the sides of Rebecca's face as his lips moved against hers. Her hands went around his waist and grabbed the cloth of his shirt at his back. However, the passionate kiss wouldn't last long. They suddenly realized what they were doing and pulled away from the kiss. They apologized profusely to each other and looked away for a moment.

"We should um… scout the rest of the town," Rebecca said.

"Yes, that we should," Havoc replied.

He extended his arm to her without looking in her eyes and she interlocked their arms without as much as a gaze in his direction. Then they set off to scout the rest of the town, the awkwardness, and confusion looming over them like a storm cloud.

**--**

Meanwhile, Riza and Roy were walking around the hotel. Riza was taking in all the possible escape routes, possible guard points, and hiding places. She was also studying the cameras, which the team had been told to turn off during the meeting in every place except the dining area. Roy was paying half attention to his location and the other half to Riza. It wasn't every day that he could openly treat her like a wife so he was going to take full advantage of it.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, his hand sliding down to rest low on her hip.

"What are you doing?" she questioned.

"Playing my part as the horny, loving husband," he said.

"You are supposed to be paying attention to the hotel," she replied.

"I am…partially." He leaned in toward her ear and whispered, "It's just that I don't get to be with you like this out in public so I am taking advantage even though we are on a mission."

Riza just sighed, knowing that trying to talk to Roy was like talking to a wall. She thought it was really sweet that he wanted to spend more time out with her and the feelings and longings of doing so were mutual. However, now was not the time for such things.

"Please pay more attention," she whispered. "You wouldn't be able to get out of here if you needed to leave without me, and the main exits were blocked."

"I wouldn't leave without you," he said, pulling her down the right hallway instead of the left.

"I thought we went over this a while ago," she said. "You are more important than me in everything we do."

"Not to me I'm not," she said. "You are the man that's going to save Amestris. I'm just a nobody."

Roy stopped his walking and turned to her. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. "You are part of me. Without you there's no way I am the man to save Amestris, as you put it. Without you, there's no me."

She took a deep breath, taking in his scent and then pulled away. She grabbed his arm. "Stop talking foolishly. You should just move on without me if I were to die. Don't let something like that stop you. Never give up," she then led him toward the stairs that led to the garden at the back of the hotel. He put his arm around her shoulders.

"Do you honestly expect that," he questioned, taking note of a large hole in one of the brick walls that lined the garden. It would be big enough for one person at a time to crawl through.

"Yes, I do," she answered, leaning her head on his shoulder. She might as well take advantage of the fact that the garden area was empty and they were playing a loving couple.

Roy led her over to a swing and they sat down.

"Then promise me the same," he said. "If something happens to me, you won't give up life."

Riza gazed at him and started to protest when they were interrupted by a hotel employee.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Wayne?" the young woman questioned.

"Yes, I am," he said.

"You have a phone call at the desk," she said.

"I see, thank you. I'll be right there."

The young lady nodded and left the garden as Roy and Riza stood.

"It will just take me a minute," he said. "Rest here for a bit. I'll be right back. It's probably Peak."

Riza looked at him sternly.

"I don't want you going off on your own. Even for a phone call."

"Ava love," Roy said, pulling her against him, still playing his roll even though there was no one (that was obvious anyway) in the garden area. He bent his lips to kiss her bare shoulder. "I'll be right back. You should stay here and look around," he said, kissing up her neck and whispering in her ear. "Find out where the cameras are."

"All right," she said. "Be careful." She bit his earlobe gently causing him to pull her even tighter against him.

"It's just to the lobby. I'll be right back."

Roy pulled away, grinned at her, and made his way to the lobby.

Riza shook her head, sighed, and sat down on the swing. She looked around the garden taking in all the surveillance cameras that were there. She had to admire how they were colored to blend in with the brick of the walls and how the ones against the glass roof were shiny, much like the glass. If it weren't for the black color surrounding the lenses, they would blend in much better.

She directed her gaze down at her lap and sighed. She waited for a few minutes and when Roy didn't return she stood, getting ready to go inside, when a voice got her attention. She turned around to see Francis Peak standing there, his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face.

"Your husband is over here with me I met him in the lobby. I told him I would come over here and retrieve you."

"I see," Riza said. While her demeanor was calm, her thoughts and feelings inside were screaming at her to be careful. Riza casually moved her hands to rest on her hips, feeling the gun tucked under her shirt. "Very well," she said, walking toward Peak. He offered her his arm but she pretended not to see his gesture, and walked past him, also not seeing the angry glare Peak gave her.

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**AN: I know, I know. I left you with a cliffy kind of…sort of… but I did so because if I didn't end this chapter here then you guys would have had to wait another few days for the chapter to get out and it's long overdue. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please drop a review my way.**


	37. The Follow Through and Mission’s End

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 37: The Follow Through and Mission's End**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA **

**AN: It was a long wait but I hope you think it was worth it. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

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--  
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**The Follow Through and Mission's End**

Riza could hear Peak walking behind her and made herself walk a normal pace when what she really wanted to do was run far away from that bastard. She lifted her hand to her side yet again to confirm her gun was still in place. Perhaps she could get the info from Peak before he tried anything on her. It was a given that he would attempt to coerced her into a sexual situation. If that were the case, by god he wouldn't be able to use his man organs ever again. She would make sure they were permanently incapacitated. Peak walked next to her, and took her arm, intertwining it with his.

"Tell me Ava, How long have you and your husband been married?"

"Do you mean legally or emotionally?" Riza questioned. Ava liked to skirt around subjects so she would do so as well.

"Legally of course. In these times, no marriage is emotional. An emotional connection is just something that naïve people make up."

When Riza didn't think that she could possibly despise Peak more than she already did, he managed to make himself more despicable. She really wanted to beat this guy to a pulp. However, she couldn't break character yet. Roy would come back and find her gone and put two and two together. Hopefully she wouldn't have to kill Peak before he did so.

"Legally we've been married for four years. We've been emotionally married for long than that. Much much longer than that." She made sure to point out that she indeed believed in emotional bonding just as much as legalizing it. She would still feel exactly the same about Roy whether they were married or not and Riza was absolutely sure that Ava felt the exact same way toward Tyler. It was a matter than she and Ava agreed wholeheartedly about.

Peak spun her around and pushed her against the wall. Riza gritted her teeth as her hands pressed into the red bricks behind her, the sand from the brick getting on her hand and the slight roughness scratching her skin.

"You don't really believe that emotional bullshit, Do you Ava? You don't think that people honestly experience connections do you? Surely, you see how unlikely things like that are."

Peak stared into her eyes with a possessed look. Instead of looking like they were looking at her, they were unfocused, as if something had possessed his body, making his malicious inner thoughts and intentions evident. She could see the blood shot veins weaving in the white substance of his Sclera and the blood red color of his tear ducts. Her stomach turned as she smelled the scent of his cologne mixed with the smell of his cigar. She didn't' like having no escape and at the moment she was pinned to her circumstances so to speak. Riza wasn't one to be intimidated but as she faced this man before her, she had to use all of her strength not to let the disgust and slight fear she carried for him show in her gaze, speech, and posture.

"Yes I do believe in those connections. I love my husband and I believe that we have a strong emotional bond with each other."

Peak stroked the side of her face with the back of his hand. "I thought you were smarter than that," he said in a gentle yet haunting voice, laced with amusement. He turned his hand so that it cupped the side of her face, and Riza tried her damnest not to tense up. This was the closest any man had gotten to her in years other than Roy, and she obviously didn't like her personal space invaded, especially by a man like Peak.

"You are a beautiful woman Ava, so it bewilders me as to why someone as beautiful as you would tie yourself to a man . . . unless . . . you married him for his money."

"I married him for love," Riza said and moved her head away from Peaks hand. She moved to try to get away from him and, much to her shock, he willingly let her go.

"I never understood that Ava. I have never ever felt that type of connection with anyone."

"Perhaps that is because you are so closed minded to it," she said, in an angrier tone than she wanted to use. She needed to keep her voice level but he was really getting on her nerves.

"Close minded my dear?" he stated in a questioning tone even though he expected no answer from her. "My dear Ava. When you get to be my age and seen the things I've seen you will find out that this connection is futile. I've seen men like your husband. They keep women until they are bored then dump them like a rock, leaving them with nothing. That's exactly what will happen to you because you are smart dear girl and he is not worthy of you."

"You really have no faith in anyone do you," she said, not letting her confusion over his statements exhibit in her appearance or voice.

"I have faith in women like you my dear," he said, stepping closer to her as she took a step back. Riza didn't see the menacing look in his eyes now. She was stunned and a bit freaked out over what she did see; she saw a deep pain. Riza had to remind herself that she wasn't dealing with a normal old man. She was dealing with a murderer, a drug dealer, an embezzler, and a kidnapper. She narrowed her eyes and took another step away from him, earning a laugh from him.

"You don't have to be afraid of me Ava. I won't do anything to you without your permission even though I could change your mind about that husband of yours. I'm many things but I am not a rapist. It's not appealing taking a woman against her will."

"Glad to know," she said.

He stepped closer to her causing her to back against a stone pillar. He leaned in so that his face was a mere inch away from hers. "Eventually though Ava, you will see that I am right about your husband. When that happens, feel free to come here," he said with a grin. "Or feel free to make your decision before you leave."

"As much as I appreciate the offer Mr. Peak," she said, punctuating his formal name significantly with a rough tone. "I don't think my husband is that type of man."

"Males are fickle."

"You are male," she said. "What makes you so different?"

"I've seen…the pain we cause. If I see a woman that could possibly go through that then I say something."

"Ah, I see. So I'm not the first you've given this proposition to. Doesn't this make you just the same as what you are warning me against?"

"You are the first I've made an offer to. I've just given warnings to others."

"What made me so… special?" she said, putting on a very Ava like demeanor. She didn't really want to extend this conversation but figured it would be an Ava-like gesture to ask.

"I don't know," he said. "Your beauty perhaps or maybe your attitude. I see something in you that I don't think that husband of yours sees. That most men look over."

Riza hated the fact that she was actually curious in what Peak saw. She didn't know what was getting into her but knew she needed to nip this conversation in the bud.

"Ava," she heard Roy speak.

"I appreciate your concern Mr. Peak but I assure you that there was no need for it. Thank you," she said.

"Very well. As I said, my offer still stands."

Riza nodded and moved away from him to walk toward her husband's voice. She then turned. "So he wasn't there. You lied." She said.

"I said I wasn't a rapist Ava. I never said I wasn't a liar," he said. "I had some hope that you would listen to me and leave with me."

"People always underestimate me Mr. Peak. It makes things convenient in my line of work." She then walked away from the criminal… very confused.

She stepped back around a corner and Roy was there.

"Where'd you go?"

"Just for a little walk," she said. She didn't want to tell Roy what went down; it would worry him. However, she knew it was one of those things that she would have to tell him and that she would feel guilty if she didn't do so.

"I thought I told you to wait here?" he said.

She heard someone and knew Peak was watching them and decided to make her stance perfectly clear. She walked up to him and with both hands lifted the collars of his shirt. She pressed her body against his very seductively.

"Since when do I have to tell you anything?" she said sensually and slowly brushed her lips against his. She suddenly jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing her lips to his ear to whisper. "Peak is watching us, we need to talk privately." She brought her lips to kiss his neck and then kissed it.

Roy didn't let his shock show as he wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her there. What in the hell was Riza thinking going with him. What if he'd done something to her? "Don't be mad," she whispered and kissed behind his ear.

"What are you up to?" he said aloud, deliberately lacing his tone with amusement. In reality, he was angry with her for making such a stupid move.

"Just hoping that you are…up…for some. . ." she kissed him, "activities."

She unwrapped her legs to stand on her own and then pulled out of his embrace. Taking his hand, she grinned. "Let's go back to our room," she said. Roy nodded and wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they walked back to their suite.

---

As soon as they walked back in and closed the door, Roy immediately started to lay into her

"What in the bloody hell were you thinking going with him? I knew you were many things Riza but I never, never, pegged you as such a bloody idiot! You knew what he wanted from you and you went anyway. After he looked at you that way!"

"Roy do…"

"Be quiet Lieutenant Hawkeye. I didn't give you permission to speak!" he snapped in a very authoritative tone.

"But…"

"You heard me Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye," he said. "Don't' speak without permission. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir," she said, straightening her posture.

"You put yourself in danger and that risks the entire outcome of this mission. You're actions are inexcusable! Until the exchange, you will not leave this apartment; you will have no contact with anyone. Do you understand Lieutenant?"

"Yes sir," she said in a flat cold tone.

"Good," he said then suddenly pulled her into his arms. She could feel him trembling and knew that he was only worried. However, she really didn't want to be around him at the moment. She was angry that he didn't even understand why she went with Peak.

She pulled away from him and saluted. "You said no contact Colonel Mustang sir. I need to follow orders."

"Riza I . . ."

"Permission to leave sir," she questioned.

Roy sighed. Perhaps it would be better if he let her calm down a bit before trying to talk to her again.

"Yes, you can leave."

"Thank you sir," she said, and walked out of the room and into the bedroom. The door shut gently and all was uneasily quite in the room.

"Damn," Roy said.

--

For the remainder of the day Riza did just as Roy ordered. She didn't have contact with anyone at all. The numerous times that Roy tried to talk to her she merely left the room. Roy explained what was going on and Rebecca hadn't taken well to the order Roy gave her, going into a rant about men and sexism. Roy had to order her to keep her mouth shut to which Rebecca reluctantly obeyed.

Roy thought Riza was acting like a scolded child. She knew that he didn't mean not to come in contact with the other members of the team or with him. Finally, he stormed in the room to talk to her before they met Peak for dinner. The others gave him directions for different routes out of town and he had to give one to Riza just in case they were separated. However, when he walked in the room he was so stricken that he couldn't quite form words. Riza was dressed in a white shimmery evening gown that covered her back but dipped low in the front. It clung to her body perfectly until it came to the knees where it split out and flared back to become a train behind her. Her hair was in a twist and a gold and diamond necklace graced her neck.

As he took in her appearance, it seemed as if his body was thinking for itself. He walked behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her shoulder. "You look beautiful," he said.

"Sir, do you really think that is appropriate," she said, her voice's tone the same as the one that she used in the office. "A commanding officer isn't supposed to touch his subordinate like this."

"Riza, you are being unreasonable. We aren't at the office."

She turned to him, her gaze even and her posture straight. "We are on a mission and I will act accordingly...sir." She pulled away from him and walked out of the bedroom in a very formal manner and Roy knew that he royally fucked up again. However, she did have a point and he didn't regret what he said about her conduct earlier that day. She needed scolded like any other officer.

He sighed and went to go take a shower and dress in his tuxedo for dinner. As expected, his team was out in the living room, preparing for the final portion of the mission. He looked forward to getting the hell out of her and going home: even though home meant the office and paperwork.

Rebecca elbowed Riza, who was staring out the window, slightly and leaned in to whisper to her. "When he's all spiffed up I can almost understand why you spread your legs for him."

Riza growled and didn't move to turn around as she heard his shoes click against the marble floor then stop as he walked onto the rug that the couches and coffee table sat on.

"Everything ready?" Roy questioned.

"Yes sir, we have our agents posing as waiters in position, the doormen are our agents as well, and all of us will be lingering in the lobby.

"Very good. Then we should get going with our meeting with Peak. I want all of you to drift slowly into the lobby. Don't' arrive all at once otherwise it might gain suspicion."

"Right, well. Lieutenant Havoc and I will go on down," Rebecca said. Riza's eyes widened as Rebecca actually used his name. This screamed that something strange had happened.

"Yes," Havoc said, standing up and walking to the door. Rebecca turned to Riza.

"Good luck and stay safe," she said.

"I will," Riza said, still quite bewildered over Rebecca's actions toward Havoc. She watched as they left the room then turned to face the others. It was then that she took in Roy's appearance. His looks always made her get a bit weak but by god if Ava didn't pick out the most well tailored tuxedo she'd ever seen.

"Let's get going…Ava," Roy said, walking to the door. She nodded and walked to grab her handbag.

"Be careful," Breda said.

"Will do," Roy replied and let Riza leave the suite before he too made his exit.

--

Riza was already waiting for the elevator when he left the room. He walked over to her and she reached up to slick a piece of hair away from his forehead. She then moved her hands down to straighten his bowtie.

"Thanks," he said.

"Yes sir," she said.

The elevator doors opened and they walked inside. When the doors closed, back with a slight thump Roy took her into his arms and molded his lips to hers passionately. She rested her gloved hands on his shoulders as he kissed her, not responding to the kiss. He pulled away and looked at her with shock.

"We still aren't in Peak's presence yet," she said and pulled away.

"You are still mad?" he questioned.

Riza didn't answer him. However, when the elevator door opened, she fastened herself onto his arm and began acting her part. Roy moved his arm out of her grip and wrapped it around her waist, resting his hand much lower on the hip that publicly proper. However since Ava wouldn't have commented on it, she didn't.

They made their way to the hotel restaurant but didn't spot Peak at any of the tables. A man approached them and smiled. "Mr. and Mrs. Wayne, please come this way. Mr. Peak is expecting you of course."

"All right, thank you," Roy said.

The man escorted them past all the tables to a doorway with gold colored beads hanging in front of it. They walked through the doorway and into a dark read room. Peak was sitting at a round table in the middle. The table had a beautiful gold tablecloth adoring it and on top of the table rested dark red dishes and elegant wine glasses. There was a cart beside him. On it sat a bucket filled with ice, and within that ice was nestled several bottles.

Peak stood and smiled merrily at the two. They walked over to him and Roy begrudgingly unwrapped his arm from around Riza's waist. Peak took Riza's hand, kissed it, and then shook Roy's hand firmly. The waiter attending them pulled out Riza's chair for her and she sat down before Roy took his place beside her and Peak sat down in his chair.

"I heard that you have quite a penchant for wine Ava, so I have several kinds."

"Actually I think you've heard something wrong. I don't care much for wine. I prefer something stronger," she said.

"Really? That's very…intriguing."

Roy was mentally applauding her act. Peak apparently was trying to mix them up.

"What do you say we have dinner before we discuss business?" he questioned.

"That's sounds fine," Roy said.

Throughout the entire dinner both Roy and Riza could tell that Peak was trying to trip them up somehow. Despite never meeting Mr. and Mrs. Wayne, he apparently did his research on the two. What confused them was the fact that he was just now trying to mess them up.

After they finished their dinner and the waiters cleared the table, Peak lifted his briefcase onto the table and opened it. He took out several forms.

"You wanted a newborn baby yes?" he questioned.

"Yes," Riza said.

Peak shut his briefcase and moved it aside. He showed Roy the forms. "This is for a week old little girl. We just got her in."

Riza cringed inwardly at his words. Somewhere, a couple was missing a beautiful newborn baby.

"Will that do love?" he questioned, looking over at Riza.

"Yes, that will be fine but may I inquire something Mr. Peak?"

"Certainly," he said.

"What nationality is she?"

"That matters?" he questioned.

"I have personal preferences so to speak. I don't want a child that doesn't look like she could ours."

"I assure you Ava, she's beautiful. Just like her mother," he said. "She is Amestrian. She comes from one of the small towns in the North," he answered.

"I see," Riza said. "Do you get your children from just Amestris?"

"Forgive my wife's questions Francis. She finds what you do for people so intriguing." Roy said, playing along with Riza and taking his suspicion off her questions. Roy signed the form and slid it over to Riza. Riza took the pen from him and signed her name as well, making a perfect forgery of Ava's signature. Peak took the forms and studied them for a moment before handing them to a man beside him.

"Call Tanner Blake and tell him to bring the child," Peak said.

"Yes sir," he said and left the room.

"Actually Ava, we get children from all over the world. Tanner Blake is a master at attaining them."

"I see, well I respect the deceit. Things like that are amazing."

"Actually Mr. Peak, our bodyguards are looking to adopt a few children. However, they don't want newborns. We were planning on…a purchase for them as a gift. Does Mr. Black specialize in anything other than infants?"

"Yes, in fact he recently acquired two children for my other clients; a boy and girl I do believe. He will arrive here soon and you would be able to ask them if you would be alive then."

Roy heard a gun cock and Peak lifted it so that Roy could see it. Riza's eyes widened. "Really, did you honestly think you could fool me? I know the military is holding Mr. and Mrs. Wayne." Riza started to reach for her gun but stopped when she felt something cold at the back of her neck.

"Don't move," a voice said.

"You certainly know your stuff I must admit. You must be quite the military agents if you could portray the two so perfectly. Tell me, what are your real names? He turned his gaze to Riza. "And ranks."

"I don't know what you are talking about," Riza said. "Is this some kind of fucking joke?"

"I wish it was. I was never expecting a beautiful girl like you to be in the military much less an agent. Imagine my surprise when I did find out. My offer still stands if you want a good time. I would consider not killing you," he said.

Riza moved slight. "Oh really? I am…" she noticed Roy giving her a funny look and knew that he wanted her to distract Peak. "I'm flattered but I really don't know. I mean I do have a job and family back in Amestris who would be disappointed in me if I were to begin a relationship out of the country and with a criminal. Could you possibly make it worth it?"

"LOVE! How could you even consider that," Roy protested.

"Hey, its survival of the fittest and the last time I checked I was fitted to be more appealing to men than—" she didn't get to finish as the table exploded knocking all three of them away. Riza hit on top of the gunman that previously held the pistol to her neck. She straddled him and with one punch, it was lights out for him. She grabbed the gun as Roy snapped engulfing the guards around them into flames.

She saw Peak lift the gun to point at Roy and fired, hitting Roy in the shoulder. Through the smoke Riza fired at Peak, knocking the gun from his hand. Suddenly the rest of Roy's team came bursting in. They could hear people from the other room screaming in horror as the smoke and smell of burning bodies drifted out of the room into the main dining area. The sprinkler system came on and Roy and Riza spotted Peak rushing out of the room.

"He's getting away!" Rebecca yelled. Roy and Riza rushed out of the door and followed Peak as he ran down the hallway and out an emergency exit. She saw the man Peak gave the forms to get in the driver's side of a black car as Peak rushed in the back.

Riza aimed at the rolled down window and shot the man in head, killing him. Roy rushed over to one side of the car, poised to snap. The door opened and Peak gasped, he then rushed back into the car, much to Roy's amusement and attempted to exit through the other side. His eyes literally crossed when he found a silver gun right at the bridge of his nose.

"Shit," he said.

"End of the line," Riza said. Much to her surprise, Peak laughed. "You have quite the aim," he said. "Sniper?"

"Maybe," she said, as the other troops came in. They handcuffed Peak as Roy walked back over to stand beside Riza.

"Mark my words though …what was your name?"

"Hawkeye," she said.

"Ah, Hawkeye. Well I still meant everything I said back in that garden. Someday he will betray you. Only a matter of time," he said.

"Get him out of here," Roy said and the man was lead away from them.

"Probably," Riza muttered. Her gaze drifted to the man lying dead in the front seat of the car, the blood leaking from his head, and cringed. Roy spotted it and started to lay a hand on her shoulder but she moved out of the way. "I'll go see about crowd control. You should see about that shoulder," she said.

"Riza," he said, knowing that she felt horrible for killing the man even if he was the bad guy.

"It's nothing; I'll be fine sir," she said and left him standing alone, among the smoke that was drifting out of the building.

"I wonder," he said.

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**AN: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. If so please drop a review my way. They make me tap dance. (Not really but they do make me happy!)**


	38. Return to East City

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 38: Returning to East City  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA **

**AN: Woot! Two chapters in one month! Thank you so much to everyone that read and reviewed last chapter and everyone that adds this story to the alerts and faves or just reads. I really appreciate it.**

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**Returning to East City **

Riza could hardly believe the mission was over. Though they hadn't been there very long, it felt like the hotel had been some kind of time warp. Everything seemed to slow down and it felt like they'd been there for years.

She knew the reasons why they came there, why they went after Peak but she couldn't place why her bullet had to lodge in the guy's head. She'd just fired the shot in the situation and killed him. She didn't want to kill anyone during this mission yet without thinking she did. Even though the man worked for a criminal that didn't mean that he wasn't a human being and that he deserved to die.

She signed as she searched through her suitcase for her "Riza" clothing. She wouldn't be caught dead in Ava-like clothing ever again, though she had no clue what she would do with the clothing. Perhaps one of those girls at Gracia's wedding would enjoy wearing them. She would check with Gracia when they got back.

She slipped on her long black skirt and a green sweater, reveling in both their warmth and coverage. It may have made her look frumpy, but frumpy was comforting. She walked over to the dresser and began taking her hair down from its updo. The many pins pinning her hair up, pulling the hair as she removed them.

She looked down at the dressers top to find a brush when suddenly she felt something wet at the base of her neck. She looked up in the mirror to see Roy standing behind her, a wet rag oh the hair at her neck and her hair turned back to her normal color. Roy's was now back to normal as well.

"There's my Riza," he said softly, a small grin appearing on his face. She grabbed a brush and started to brush her hair. She was surprised when Roy took it from her and began brushing it instead.

"The investigations team got clearance to search Peak's mansion and his office here at the hotel. With Peak incarcerated, several of his men have agreed to talk in exchange for shorter or no jail terms."

Riza watched him via the mirror. He didn't look at her as he spoke, instead choosing to focus on the strands of hair that straightened of kinks thanks to the sharp bristles of the brush he was using.

"Did they figure out how Peak found out about us being who we are? Was it our own lack of acting skill?"

"We don't know how he found out. They are still trying to get that out of Peak. Not even his men knew how he knew."

"Oh," she said. Roy put the brush down on the dresser and turned her around. He lifted a hand to her face and stroked her cheek. "You want to stay here one more night or do you want to leave now? Havoc and the others voted to get the hell out of here but I told them that I would have to discuss it with you. Riza pulled away. "You are the commanding officer. You make the decision," she said, walking over to her suitcase, shutting it, and clicking the latches that enclosed it so that its contents wouldn't have the capability of falling from the case.

"Riza…we still aren't on that are we. There are more important things to worry about than-"

"We aren't still on anything. That was a simple statement," she said, interrupting him.

"Are you tired?" he questioned.

"That doesn't matter," she said.

"Yes it does," he said.

She turned and looked at him. "I'm a trained sniper, been through more hell than you little alchemists. Trained to kill and endure. I'm fine. If you want to fucking go home tonight then let's go."

Roy was shocked at her response. As he thought, she was indeed an emotional wreck. With Riza, it was always hard to tell by most people since she didn't convey her sorrow and guilt the same as everyone else. She always conveyed hers by talking about how it was her job or that she trained to do things like that. She tried to hide her feelings through her job. Also there was the "I'm fine denial." Perhaps for her sake it would be better if they got away from this hotel.

"Get packed," he said. "We'll leave in an hour."

"Yes sir," she said, not telling him that everything was already packed. Roy went to the closet and retrieved the suitcase from the closet. Riza took it from him. "I'll pack for you sir," she said, taking the suitcase from his hand.

"Riza, stop calling me sir," he said.

"It's best if I do sir. Please don't argue," she said.

Roy grabbed the suitcase from her and walked over to the wardrobe. He roughly sat it down on a chair and snapped it open. He began opening drawers, taking out his clothing, and shoving it in the case.

She walked over to him and grabbed his wrist to stop his latest potential addition to the suitcase in its tracks. "You're clothes are going to get wrinkled if you pack like that. I don't feel like ironing either."

Roy sighed. "Riza…"

"Please sir, let me do this," she said. Roy looked into his wife's gaze and saw what she really wanted to accomplish by doing the packing herself. She wanted to keep busy, to take care of something. She wanted to take her mind off things.

"All right," he said, dropping the shirts he had back into the drawer. He turned his body toward her and started to pull her into a hug but she avoided it.

"I should get packing," she said, walking past him.

Roy sighed and nodded even though she couldn't see him. He had to tell himself that Riza was acting the way she needed to at the moment and that he would have to deal with that right now. What he really wanted to do was just lie down and hold her; let her rant or scream or just talk to him about how she was feeling. Instead, he forced himself to leave the room.

Riza sighed in relief when he left and then instantly felt guilty for doing so. It wasn't that she didn't want him around…yet… it was. Her feelings were currently so mixed up that she honestly didn't know what she wanted. It wasn't as if she hadn't taken a life before but contrary to what people thought, it didn't get easier. On top of that, she was giving serious consideration to what Peak said and that made her feel even more horrible. How could she doubt Roy's loyalty for even a moment and trust the words of a monster like Peak? It was downright idiotic of her to be doing that. She started removing the clothing Roy threw into the suitcase so that she could fold it properly and soon busied herself with packing his other clothes.

As soon as Riza snapped Roy's second suitcase shut, he came through the door. "They've got two cars waiting for us downstairs to take us to the station. Havoc and the others are already down in the lobby."

Riza nodded. "I packed up your things," she said.

"Thank you," he said.

"Yeah," she replied and walked over to her own suitcase. She started to lift it off its place on the bed when she heard Roy's footsteps approaching her and then two muscular arms wrap around her. His nose nuzzled at the base of her neck.

"Love you," he said simply. "Never forget that."

Riza smiled slightly upon hearing that. Every time she heard those words, her heart felt a bit lighter. He somehow said the exact thing that made her feel a bit better. She turned in his embrace and offered the best smile she could muster. She reached up to run her right hand through his hair, messing up the slicked back style. "I know," she said. "I won't forget it. Love you too. We should get going," she said, pulling out of his embrace for what seemed like the millionth time that day. She grabbed her suitcases and walked to the door. Roy did the same and made their way down to the lobby where the others were waiting. Riza walked to stand beside Rebecca.

"Took you long enough," she said, trying to get Riza flustered. She was both disappointed and worried that Riza didn't fluster in the slightest. All she did was nod.

"Something wrong?"

"No," Riza lied.

"Yes there is I can tell whe-"

"Just drop it Rebecca," Riza snapped in a low tone.

Rebecca was surprised at the tone Riza used with her and knew that indeed there was something very wrong with her best friend. She would inquire about it when Riza wasn't in such an uncongenial mood.

The cars pulled up to the doors and Rebecca leaned really close to Riza's ear and whispered. "Please don't make me ride with Havoc. Please please please let me ride with you and the colonel." Of course, it was common knowledge that Riza always rode with Roy everywhere. She was his bodyguard after all.

Riza jerked away from her friend and looked at her strangely. "Why? What happened? I know you don't like him but you've never acted like this."

"I promise I'll tell you when we are alone just please…"

"Sir, I'd like Rebecca to ride with us," Riza said as the bellhop loaded the bags into the truck of the car. Roy looked at her surprisingly. He wasn't exactly fond of the idea of spending even a short drive with Rebecca but for Riza's sake, he'd tolerate it.

"All right," he said. "Havoc lets go," he said. The least he could do for amusement was have Havoc around. He and Rebecca always made good entertainment.

"Actually chief, I think I'll ride with Falman, Breda, and Fuery if you don't mind," he said.

Roy blinked. Great, now he would be alone in what he would dub the estrogen mobile with two moody women. Riza had a right to be feeling the way she was but Rebecca always acted as if she'd inserted her tampon backwards…and in the wrong bodily exit. Oh well, he'd been through Ishbal he could tolerate that.

"Sure, go ahead," he said.

"Havoc nodded and got into the car with his three comrades.

Roy walked over to the other car and opened the door. "Ladies," he said.

Riza sighed and walked over to the car, getting in first. Rebecca walked over to the car. "Permission to speak freely sir?"

"Since when have you felt it necessary to ask permission?"

"True, I was just going to say that I think you've found your calling. You are good at opening do-" Roy shut the door and folded his arms.

"See I was going to do something nice but then I remember that a man was only supposed to open doors for a lady. Sadly, when Riza got in the car there was no more around."

"Just what do you think I am," she snapped.

"My honor as an officer and state alchemist doesn't permit me to use such language while on duty."

Rebecca huffed. Suddenly the car door opened and they had to step back to keep from being hit.

"Are you two coming or are you going to stand out there and argue all night?" Riza questioned, her tone clearly displaying her displeasure with the two's childish contending.

"Rebecca glared at Roy. Go on," she said. "You can sit in the middle since you are the precious cargo that we must protect."

Roy narrowed his eyes and started to get ingot the car.

"Ladies first after all," she commented. Roy almost got back out of the car but Riza grabbed his collar to pull him down onto the seat.

"Just let it go," she whispered as Rebecca sat down beside him.

Roy muttered a few curse words and crossed his arms as Rebecca shut the door and the car took off toward the train station. At least he could avoid the psycho harpy on the train.

The ride to the station, much to his surprise, was rather quiet. He could feel that both women were thinking deeply about something. He knew Riza's and while he obviously didn't care as much for Rebecca, he couldn't help but wonder what had put her in this silent state. If he ever did, he would attempt to bottle it and sell it as a formula for men to silence those types of women that always nagged their men. Roy laughed inwardly as he thought of a name for them…the Rebeccanites.

Roy was brought from his thoughts when something covered his left hand that he had rested on the seat beside him. He gazed down at it and realized that Riza had intertwined her fingers with his. He got a bit nervous at the action. What if Rebecca saw? It would get all over the place if the harpy from hell found out about them. He started to move it but stopped suddenly when he realized Riza's hand was shaking slightly. Though her gaze was directed out the window, he knew that if he looked into it he would see a haunted woman. Instead of pulling it away, he gently flipped it, palm up and grasped it tightly in his grip. If this was what Riza needed, then Rebecca be damned.

They arrived at the location and Roy felt Riza pull her hand away from his. He wished that he could hold it publicly without the entire world crumbling down on them. Sometimes he damned the fact that he wanted to change the country and that doing so meant keeping their relationship a secret. IT was hard work doing so but he wouldn't change anything that he did with her in the past. He never once regretted marrying her and he knew that he never would.

The porter at the station loaded their bags onto the train. The ride would be four hours without factoring in the stopovers required. Hopefully during that time he'd be able to find some time alone with Riza. They all boarded the train and made their way to their seats. The train car was military reserved therefore there wouldn't be any other passengers joining them. The rest of the group of military officials had to stay behind to wrap things up so to speak.

As everyone entered the car, Riza made her way to the back and sat in the corner. She took out her book, which told everyone there that she didn't want to be bothered. Roy took the seats across the aisle from her so he could keep an occasional eye on her. He propped his feet upon the bench across from him and leaned back thinking about all the paperwork that awaited him on his way home. He sighed heavily causing Riza to glance over at him. The sides of her mouth quirked slightly for just a moment before it dropped and she returned her focus on the book in her hands.

Rebecca sat off by herself as well, as far away from Havoc as possible. She sat there staring out the window, waiting for the train to begin its journey. Havoc and the men instantly started up a card game knowing they were in for a long ride. This mission, as brief as it was, apparently took a lot out of everyone. Especially Riza of course.

Roy lifted his hand to the wound at his shoulder and cringed as a slight pain shot through it. He brought his hand back down and felt eyes on him. He looked to his left to see that Riza was staring at him with a concerned look. He smiled at her to reassure that he was all right. She nodded and went back to reading her book.

The train jerked as it began its journey back to Amestris and East City. The ride was rough at first but soon smoothed out (as smooth as it could be considering it was a train after all). Roy stood closed his eyes to take a short nap. Little did he know that that short nap would be an hour long? When he awoke, the train was stopped and the cabin was empty. However as soon as he stood the door opened and Riza walked in with two styrofome cups and a small bag.

"How long did I sleep?" Why'd we stop?"

"You only slept an hour," she said, handing him one of the large cups. "The reason we stopped is because this is one of the stopovers."

Roy flipped back the lid on his cup and sipped the contents. He cringed at the taste. "Hot chocolate?" he questioned.

"Oh, oops," she said. She took the cup from him and handed him the other one. "The chocolate was mine."

Roy flipped open the lid to the new cup he was holding and cautiously took a sip just in case. Much to his relief and pleasure, it was indeed coffee. He flopped back down on the bench and Riza sat down beside him.

"Where are the others?"

"Rebecca is in the dining cart and Havoc went to get a pack of cigarettes from the station store. The others are browsing the magazine and newspaper rack there as well."

She opened the bag and took out two napkins. With one of them, she reached in, pulled out a small dessert, and handed it to Roy. "Cheese Danish," she said.

Roy smiled and took it from her. She retrieved hers from the bag with the other napkin and began to eat it and drink her coffee.

"You all right?" he questioned.

"You've asked me that already and I told you I was for the most part," she said.

"You are sitting here trying to make me comfortable when you need to worry about yourself," he said.

"Make you comfortable? What makes you say that?"

"The fact you brought me coffe—"

"I always bring you coffee," she interrupted.

"Yeah but never one of my favorite breakfasts that you disapprove of."

"We need comfort food."

"Exactly," he said. "Comfort food. You are trying to comfort everyone but yourself."

"I did get hot chocolate," she said.

"Riz-" he stopped when the door opened, and the men entered. Havoc was puffy merrily on his cigarette and the other men had a few newspapers and books. Riza couldn't believe how bored they got when it was only a four-hour ride. Then again, she'd always brought a book with her but that wasn't out of boredom. It was more for the reason she had something that told people that it would be improper to interrupt.

Rebecca entered the room soon after, her own cup of coffee in her hand. She didn't even give a glance to Havoc but Riza did notice a slight blush appear on her cheeks as she sat down two benches away from the group of me. Havoc coughed and went back to staring out the window, the cigarette still dangling from him lips.

"I have a question," Roy whispered to Riza.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Have they insulted each other any at all while I was asleep?"

"No, nothing. Rebecca has just been sitting there and Havoc has been playing cards. The most noise was Breda cursing as Furey kept beating them at poker."

"There's something wrong then," he said.

"Yeah, I think that too," she whispered.

Rebecca looked at Riza and smiled slightly. Before directing her gaze back down at the top of her coffee mug.

"I swear they are acting like two teenagers that just had their firs…My god you don't think they-" Roy started.

"Of course not. There's no way," she said, looking at Havoc then Rebecca, then back at Havoc. She then turned to look at Roy. "At least I don't think they would."

"They do fight an awful lot," Roy said.

"Rebecca doesn't like smokers," Riza responded, continuing in a low tone.

"Maybe she does but is in denial about that. Perhaps she sees past the smoking habit…never mind, you're right. There's no way."

Riza looked surprised. "What made you change your mind so sudden?"

"Havoc has much better tastes in women than that," he said. That earned him a slight elbow and chuckle from Riza. He smiled at her, glad to see something other than a serious expression on her face. They heard the conductor yell all aboard and the train began to move once more. Riza finished her pastry and started to take the book out of her purse once more. Roy stopped her by grabbing her wrist. She looked up at him and sighed, knowing the message he was trying to convey to her. She removed her hand and leaned back against the seat. Roy grinned in satisfaction and took another sip of his coffee, having long finished the pastry she'd gotten him.

An hour later Riza stood and stretched a bit. "I need some air," she said and walked out of the car to the platform. She took a deep breath of the fresh air that only this section of the country could provide. She leaned against the car and looked out at the rapidly passing scenery. She then turned her gaze down to stare at her black heeled shoes. She'd forgotten to take them off when she was changing but begrudgingly had to admit that she found them quite comfortable despite their height.

She heard the door open and expected Roy to step out but much to her dismay it was Rebecca. A wave of guilt washed through her at not being happy to see her best friend.

"You okay?" she questioned.

"Why do people keep asking me that?" Riza muttered.

"Because you killed a man tonight," she said.

"Not the first time," Riza said, trying to drop the subject.

"Doesn't matter and you know it," she said. "Rebecca lifted a hand up to her gaze. "I've killed one man and not a day goes by that I don't regret it."

"Are you trying to make me feel better?" Riza snapped.

Rebecca dropped her hand. "No, I'm trying to tell you that you can't let it bother you so much. Think about it sure, you can't keep from doing that, but you had to shoot him. You didn't have a choice."

"I could have shot him in the shoulder but I didn't think of that."

"You don't hesitate when Mustang is involved," Rebecca said, leaning against the door. "You see Mustang in danger and you ask questions later. Exactly what a good aid and bodyguard is supposed to do."

Riza turned her gaze back down to the floor. "I'll be all right Becca," she said after a period of silence.

"Yes, I know," she replied.

Riza looked at her. "Now what's the deal with you and Havoc? You haven't fought since we left the hotel and you are avoiding looking at each other like you'd turn to stone if you did."

"Argh! RIZZZZA! It's horrible!" she said like a kid that did something bad.

"You didn't sleep with him did you?" she questioned.

"ARGH! NO! I would have shot myself!"

"Then what?"

"We had a …a …tongue tango."

Riza tilted her head to look at her friend with confusion before she realized what Rebecca meant. Riza covered her mouth with one hand to try to hold in the snickers. Not over the fact that the two gave into locked up feelings but the fact that Roy's first hypothesis turned out to be true.

"It's not funny Riza! I hate that guy! He's so ugh!"

Riza steadily steeled her laughter and turned to Rebecca who was leaned harder against the door and pouting like a child.

"May be you don't hate him after all. I mean if you two hated each other then you wouldn't have kissed in the first place right?"

"Well... I KNOW! Someone pushed me!"

"And you happen to keep your lips against his for longer than it took to pull away. Come on Rebecca! You can do better than that. Stop making excuses and admit you like Lieutenant Havoc."

"I don't! And even if I was ever so slightly fond of him."

"Which you aren't," Riza said.

"Right. I aren't. I mean am not. It wouldn't make much of a difference if I were, hypothetically speaking of course, because I don't have feelings for him. We are both officers in the military."

"Maybe Havoc would quit and become a house husband," Riza said with a chuckle.

"You aren't helping!" she said, becoming all flustered.

"Wonder what your kids would look like," she said, ignoring Rebecca and channeling a bit of Maes Hughes.

"Rizaaaaa! Stop it," she said.

"All right, so what do you want to know?"

"What should I do about it?"

"About the kiss?"

"Yes! It's making things awkward between Havoc and I. I already miss the hate/hate relationship we shared."

Riza thought about it for a moment. "Maybe you should just continue flirting through arguing the way you have been all this time."

"Riza! We were not—AHHHH" Before Rebecca could speak another word, the door she was resting against opened and she went tumbling back into the floor.

"Sorry about that Lieutenant," Roy said. I was just going out to get some fresh air.

Rebecca sat up and heard the men behind her laughing. She turned to glare at them and they instantly shut up.

"Need help?" Roy questioned, holding out his hand politely to help her.

She grabbed it and examined it to make sure it was void of tricks before taking it and getting to her feet. She let go of it as if it were a snake and wiped her hand on her pants as if she was wiping grime off. Roy really didn't know that she was leaning against the door and then when he offered to help the harpy up he got a wordless insult. If she wanted to play that way then it was fine with him.

"Riza, make a note to flea dip these gloves when I get back home," he said, walking out the door and shutting it behind him, leaving a fuming Rebecca standing there.

"He got you," Havoc said delightfully.

"Shut up you walking cancer stick," she snapped and left out the other side of the car.

Havoc smirked and the men started up another game of cards.

-----

"I really didn't mean to make her fall in the floor. As funny as that was doing that wasn't in my top ten list of priorities. Top twenty maybe but not ten," Roy said, causing Riza to laugh.

"Did you find out what the deal was with her and Havoc?"

"Yeah," she said.

"And?"

"You know I can't tell. She'd kill me," she said.

"What if I guess?"

"She can't fault me if you guess right," she said.

"Well…let me see," he said, coming to stand beside her, casually laying his hand on top of one of hers that was resting on the railing of the car. Riza looked down and smiled before wrapping her pinky around his. It was quite a childish and silly gesture but she really enjoyed it.

"I know! Her and Havoc made out in an alley somewhere!" he said with a laugh, clearly joking. Riza stiffened and paled.

"Kidding of course. Let me see…" He trailed off when he saw the way Riza was standing and the shock on her face.

"Riza are you…Oh shit! I was right?" he asked, turning slightly pale as well.

Riza knew she didn't have to answer he meant it as a rhetorical question.

"Wow," he said. "What are they going to do about it?"

"Probably continue as they have been. Neither of them will ever admit that they have feelings for each other nor can they really."

"We did," he said.

"We're different," she said. "We were young when we made our decision. Didn't think things through well enough."

Roy looked at her surprised. "Are you saying that if you had it to do over again you wouldn't have married me?"

"That doesn't matter," she said.

"Yes it does," he protested. "Would you have?"

"Would you? You could have any beautiful woman you want if you hadn't got married."

"I could do that now," he joked, and earned a glare from her. "You know I'm kidding," he said.

Riza nodded but truly, she wondered. Peak had mentioned all of her insecurities during one conversation. She really wasn't as womanly as Roy needed and both of them were risking their career to be together."

"Yeah, I guess," she said.

Roy looked at her with concern but didn't speak about her response.

"Riza, I would marry you as many times as necessary. I don't regret marrying you but I regret that we have to hide like we are criminals."

"We sort of are," she replied.

Roy nodded. "Now, answer me. Would you have married me if you had it to do over? If the past suddenly came back and you knew what you knew now?"

Riza turned to face him and smiled. "Yeah, I would have. Even if I did know how much trouble you were going to be," she said. She wanted to touch him more than just a simple holding of hands but it wasn't the time. If one of the team came out here, they would have to explain a lot. Also, someone could come out the door in the car in front of them.

Roy lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Let's go back in inside. It's getting chilly out here."

"I'll come in a few minutes," she said.

Roy kissed her hand again and nodded before making his way back into the car. Riza smiled as she looked down at the hand now gripping the rail, the hand that Roy kissed. Just from his presence along with her for that short time, she felt better. Roy had this remarkable gift to make her feel special. It made her feel as if she had no blood on her hands: like she was just a normal woman. Perhaps that was one of the reasons she loved him so much.

She took another deep breath and made her way back inside the train. Leaving the cool dusky evening behind her.

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**AN: I really hoped you enjoyed it. If you wish, please press the new lovely review button and leave a few words. Much loves and huggles… MSD **

**(Am I the only one that didn't see the point in a new button?)**


	39. Who To Trust

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 39: Who To Trust **

**Insert proper disclaimer here. (Come on, you all know I don't own FMA or gain any profit from this fiction.)**

**AN: I ran a little messenger vote when I was one with a few readers/new friends (yay) on my MSN whether there should be a lemon and the vote was unanimous that a lemon was wanted so there is one in here. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed last chapter. It makes me happy to see that you guys are sticking with this story and so faithful to it. I really appreciate it so much you have no idea. **

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**Who To Trust **

It was rather disturbing how eerily quiet the Central City train depot could get during night hours. The orange-tinted dim lights that illuminated the platform of the train station made the normally light and airy place look dark and stuffy. As the passengers got off the train, they stayed quiet, as if there was some unspoken rule that people weren't to talk in the area at night. They merely met their families, friends, and loved ones and without a word shuffled home; the only noise permeating the quiet night were the sounds of the vehicle's motors and the tires splashing in the puddles along the roads.

Mustang's group was no exception though their quietness didn't stem from some environmental influence or for the obedience of an unspoken, unofficial rule. Their silence was because they were dead on their feet. The train ride had been horribly long and arduous and the hard seats, bad food, and the previously short yet draining mission had only added to the agony.

"We aren't going to find a taxi this time of night, are we?" Rebecca groaned breaking the muteness.

"Not likely," Havoc said, void of his cigarette since he was too tired to get one out of the inner pocket of his black jacket.

"We don't have that much of a long walk," Furey said. "We do live in the dorms after all and they are only a few blocks away."

"Surely you guys have more stamina than that," Riza said, her tiredness could be seen in her eyes but the rest of her body didn't betray any weariness whatsoever.

"I'm not that tired," Roy said.

"That's because you slept like a log," Rebecca said. "Only a lazy man like you could sleep on a train like that."

"If you aren't too tired to argue then you aren't too tired to walk," Roy snapped.

"It's not that difficult. Stop being a baby Rebecca," Riza scolded. The last thing she wanted to hear was Rebecca and Roy argue at this time of night. All she wanted was a nice warm bed with a nice warm blanket and her nice warm colonel to cuddle up to. "The colonel and I have the longest walk. Stop complaining and get walking," Riza said, her voice more stern than she meant for it to be. She picked up her suitcase and began walking before anyone could say another word.

"Goodnight you all, I expect you in the office the day after tomorrow," he said.

"The day after tomorrow?" Havoc questioned.

"I called General Grumman during a stopover to request a day off. He granted it since we wouldn't be getting back until late."

"If that's the case then why didn't you request a ride for us?"

"How would you feel if you had to get up at," Roy glanced up at the clock, "one in the morning to pick up soldiers who have been trained to endure much more than this?"

"Good point," Rebecca said, for once agreeing with him.

Roy then turned without another word and began his trek home. He picked up his pace to catch up with Riza whom he saw turn the corner in the distance. He grinned, knowing that around that corner she would be waiting for him. He was tired but he'd never miss a chance to attempt to spook his wife. Now, in the dark, so early in the morning when she was tired, would be the perfect time to spring a good old fashion "boo" upon her unsuspecting person.

He sat his suitcase down gently and sneaked around the corner. Riza was standing there, her eyes closed and her body leaned against the wall. Suddenly, he jumped at her and gave a voluminous shout.

"BOO!" What he wasn't expecting was Riza's fist to come out and connect directly with his nose. She opened her eyes and they widened.

"Roy!" she shouted, quite alarmed that she'd punched her husband. She took a step toward him as he held his nose.

"I'm fine," he said, his hand covering both the organ of scent and his mouth. His voice was scratchy and muffled due to the coverage.

"Let's get home," she said, her voice filled with worry.

"Yeah, that would be a good idea," he replied.

----

Riza handed Roy an icepack that she retrieved from the freezer. That injury was worse than the one that he'd received on the mission. She sat beside him on her couch and looked at him worriedly. On the way back to the apartments, he hadn't even glanced in her direction, instead choosing to walk behind her a few feet away. She didn't want him to be angry with her. However, a part of it was his fault. She couldn't help it if punch first and ask questions later was her answer if someone attempted to sneak up on her. She remembered she'd once elbowed Gracia Hughes in the gut pretty roughly when she snuck up behind her at the market. After the woman recovered, she asked Riza for self-defense lessons. The incident was something Gracia still liked to tease her about on occasion.

"One hundred even," he said, chuckled, and followed with a groan when his nose twitched.

"What is one hundred even?" she questioned.

Roy raised his head from its leaning back position on the couch. He lifted the icepack off his slightly swollen nose and looked at her. "The times you have hurt someone who has snuck upon you. The thing is . . . you usually use some kind of martial art, not a left hook."

"It has not been that many!" she protested.

"It has. I've kept count. Which reminds me," he said, standing up and reaching in his pocket and taking out his black book. He opened it to the back, took out a pen, and made a mark.

"You've kept count! Let me see that," she said, getting off the couch. She took the book and gazed in at the tally marks that the small page had acquired. "When in the hell did you start keeping this?"

"When you had your very first hit. Remember, Havoc came up behind you and tickled your waist. Instead of a laugh, he got a pain in the stomach.

"That wasn't proper military conduct for him and I stick by my reflexes in that incident. You can't stand there and tell me that you didn't miss add a lot of those tallies," she said, getting ready to close the book. He stopped her from doing so and flipped the page. Along it were numbers and names.

"Shall we go through them one by one?" he questioned.

"You've even kept their names?"

"Yeah, and these are the only ones I'm sure of. Only a god would know how many people you've injured this way without telling me. It's quite an entertaining quirk that you have. Oddly, I think I was your first frontal assault," he said with a chuckled.

She growled, raised her hand, and flipped his nose with her finger.

"Ouch!" he said, dropping his book to rub his nose.

"I'm going to bed now," she said. "Be sure to put that icepack back in the freezer when you're done."

Roy watched as she walked into the bedroom and shut the door. He picked up his book and sat it down on a table, then grabbed the ice pack and took it into the kitchen. Doing as Riza asked, he deposited it back into the freezer and went to the bedroom. Riza was already cuddled under the warm, soft comforters and down pillows. He stripped of his clothing, leaving on his boxers, and crawled in bed. He slowly approached her from behind.

"You aren't going to hit me are you?" he joked, as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Bastard," Riza muttered.

---

Thunder clapped and lighting flashed as morning came. The sun wasn't shying its rays on the city due to the dark ominous clouds that shielded it. When the thunder clapped again, Riza groaned and opened her eyes. She moved her gaze to the window and groaned again. It was raining and rainy days meant a grumpy husband. She directed her gaze over to the clock and sighed. It was nine in the morning, which meant she officially got eight hours of sleep. That also meant that, though she was still exhausted, that would be all the sleep she could get. Unless she was sick, she rarely slept more than eight hours straight. It just wasn't in her body's genetic makeup to do so. Even after the times she and Roy made love, she'd doze, but it would never be the body enriching sleep that it needed.

She decided that she might as well get up and put on some coffee. They didn't have much in the fridge since they'd cleaned it out before they left, so breakfast would have to wait until after she went to the shop for something. Better yet, she would have some things delivered from the small grocer down the street.

She attempted to sit up and found that her movements were stalled. As expected, Roy was holding her tightly against his body, his head turned awkwardly so that his still slightly swollen nose wouldn't bump the back of her head. Roy always did sleep in awkward positions. She had reasonable belief that if he wanted, Roy Mustang would be able to sleep standing up without any support.

She attempted to sit up once again, and once again, she was kept firmly in place by his arms.

"My Riza," he said, with a muffled, possessive, and childlike tone. He pulled her tighter against his body and draped one of his legs over hers. She couldn't help but laugh as she found herself in the familiar bear hold that shed first learned about the night they first made love. She was quite fond of being held like that most of the time, but she really wanted to get up and get some coffee. Despite not really caring for the taste of the bitter beverage, she actually welcomed it early in the mornings. It seemed like it gave her a jump-start.

"Roy, I want to get up," she said loudly, then waited a few moments for a response. When she didn't receive one, she poked him firmly in the stomach. "Roy, wake up or at least let me go. I want to get up."

"Awwww . . . Do you have to?" He said in a sleepy and childish manner. "You're so warm and comfortable and we don't have to go to work today."

"Yes, I want some coffee," she said. "And I'll probably have the grocer deliver some things over so we actually have food."

Roy snuggled his face into her hair and winced as his nose hit her head. Then he stilled his head and took a deep breath. "You smell good too," he said, as if he didn't hear a word she previously spoke.

"Come on, let me get up then you can snuggle into the covers for the rest of the day if you wish."

Roy groaned and loosened his grip on her. "Covers aren't as comfortable as you are," he said, sitting up. He reached up to rub his eyes and his fingers accidentally hit his nose, causing him to yelp lightly and wince.

She sat up and stretched, extending her arms into the air until they made a light pop. "Thank you," she said.

Roy muttered something incoherent then stared at the window. His disappointed frown then turned into a darker one. "It's raining," he muttered.

"Yes," she said, standing up and walking over to her dresser to retrieve some clothing. She bent down to the bottom drawer to retrieve a skirt and heard a whistle. She laughed and straightened up when she heard footsteps coming toward her. She turned to face him only to find him closer than she suspected.

"You almost got hit again," she said.

Roy took the clothing from her arms and sat it on the dresser before lifting her to sit on it as well. He moved his lips to kiss her collarbone that was visible because the top buttons of the shirt were undone. He growled and pulled away when he hit his nose.

"Thought you were sleepy," she said with a laugh.

"I'm wide awake now. You bent over like that with just my shirt and those black underwear on is an instant shock to the system," he said, running his hands up her legs and under the shirt. He pinched her, causing her to jump. She laughed and moved her arms to wrap around his neck. She leaned in and kissed him softly, wary of his injury, then pulled away.

"Since you're awake, put some pants on and we'll change that bandage on your shoulder. Isn't it bothering you?"

Roy turned his head and glanced down at the bandage. "Actually the pain in my nose took my mind off this injury," he said with a chuckle. Riza growled and he grinned at her. "You could take my mind off my injury if you wanted."

"How could I do that?" she asked and when he got that familiar smirk on his face, she knew the answer.

"We've been married for years and you still act like we're on our honeymoon," she said. She was surprised when Roy frowned. His hands moved out from under her shirt and his arms wrapped around her waist. She gently laid her hands atop his shoulders.

"We never really had a honeymoon, and our lives together could end in a heartbeat," he said. "We have a dangerous profession and I don't want to go out knowing that I didn't show you how much I love you as often as I could. Whether that be through making love or otherwise."

Though the words were sweet, they also hung that dangerous realization over their heads. It was true, they could die any time, and death was something no one could return from. Riza looked into Roy's eyes and saw that far off look he sometimes got when his thoughts were burrowing deep into the dark corners of his mind. She decided she would lighten things up a bit.

"Or you could be a horny colonel with a god complex who likes me to scream your name to confirm that you do indeed have better powers than the average man," she said.

This caused Roy to snap out of his thoughts and laugh lightly, the sound seemingly cutting through the tension that had engulfed the room for a moment. "And do I?"

Riza kissed him quickly. "I wouldn't know. I've never slept with another man."

Roy frowned. "Then I prefer never to get an answer to that question."

She chuckled and kissed him again. When she tried to pull away, she found that Roy's hand had found the back of her head and that he was deepening the kiss significantly. Roy finally pulled away from the carnal kiss and grinned at her. He rested his hands on her knees and slid them up so that they rested on her thighs, indicating to her what he was planning.

Before she could voice her protests, he kissed her lips again very softly and then moved to kiss the right corner of them. When she felt his hands find their way under her shirt and to the band of her panties, the protests in her mind evaporated. She felt him slowly move her underwear down her legs, the wet silk and cotton cooling and dampening her limbs slightly. He purposely went slowly, wanting to tease her in every way possible, wanting her to know what his current goal was and that he'd take his own sinful sweet time to attain it. When he got her underwear past her knees, they easily slid off her legs and onto the floor.

He then returned his hands to their previous spot, now there was no barrier between his hands and her intimacy. He slowly ventured his hand to her womanhood, letting two fingers slip inside her, stroking, pinching and rubbing at her skin, causing it to bud up like a newborn rose. She grabbed onto the dresser's edges and leaned back, her still covered breasts arching up as her back bowed. Her head fell back against the mirror as Roy moved his thumb over her clitoris, applying enough pressure to cause her hips to buckle.

Riza felt her body tense as he seemingly wound it tighter and tighter, his thumb moving in circular motions. Her muscles were tensing; her breaths were increasing and she could feel her essence pouring out of her and onto his calloused fingertips. She bit her lips and knew she was almost at her release. She whimpered loudly when he suddenly pulled his fingers out of her. The loss of stimulation making her body go into a curt withdrawal.

She raised her head from its leaned back position to see Roy smirking at her mischievously. Before she knew it, he kneeled in front of her and kissed her knee. He then trailed his lips to the side of her knee and began kissing upward. Her hands fisted in his hair as he came mere centimeters from his goal, then stopped abruptly. She saw that he'd pulled back and was holding his shoulder.

"What a wrong time for this injury to act up," he growled through clinched teeth.

She quickly leaped off the dresser and ran into the bathroom, her concern for her husband overpowering the beautiful feeling in her body. When she returned, she had a glass of water, a pill bottle, and some bandages.

"Here, take this," she said, handing him the glass and two tablets from the small green bottle. Roy put the tablets in his mouth and then drank all of the water, swallowing the tablets along with the cool crystal liquid. He handed her the glass and she sat it on the table. "Let me get some warm water and we'll wash that injury," she said.

She went into the bathroom and got a small tub of warm water and a washcloth then went back into the bedroom. After sitting the tub on the nightstand, she motioned Roy over to her. He sat in front of her on the bed and much to her surprise, she smelled coffee brewing.

"I fixed some while you were in the bathroom," Roy said, answering the question that was poised on her lips.

"Oh," she said, unwinding the bandage. She was a bit uncomfortable in her current clothing because her shirt was sticking to her due to the sweat that had accumulated on her body due to Roy's previous attentions.

"Turn around," she said. Roy did as she asked and she washed the wound. She got on her knees on the bed to rewrap the injury. When she was through, she started to get off the bed when she felt a hand under her shirt, right at the lumbar region of her back. Roy scooted back against the headboard, taking her with him.

"Roy?" she questioned.

"We never finished," he said, beginning to unbutton the shirt she wore. He started at her shoulders and slowly removed the shirt, sliding his hands with it as he slid it down her arms. He could see the chill bumps appearing on her arms as he did so and grinned. He kissed her shoulder as she shrugged it off the rest of the way and threw it to the floor. He raised his head to look at her swollen lips, and then moved his lips against hers in a short kiss.

She reached down to massage him through the black cotton fabric of his boxers, feeling his hardness through the thin material. Roy stood and pulled off his boxers before sitting back down on the bed.

He started to move over her but a hand on his chest stopped him from doing so. She pushed him back in his previous sitting position and crawled over him. She positioned herself over his cock and sunk her hips down, taking him inside her body. Her body arched instantly as he stretched her, and his head fell back against the headboard upon feeling her insides clinched around his manhood. His arms wrapped around her waist as she began moving on him, twisting her hips slightly as she sank up and down, her speed increasing a bit each time she impaled herself upon him. Roy grinned and lowered his lips to her breasts, taking one of the puckered nipples into his mouth. He lowered one of his hands to rest on the small of her back and let it trail up and down the area as he continued his ministrations to her breasts. Riza groaned and squeezed her lower body so it would tighten around his cock, causing him to groan as well.

She leaned her head back as she continued to ride him. Her hair was now damp with sweat and sticking to her tattooed back. She could feel that she was almost at her release. Roy raised his head to look at her and was surprised when Riza wrapped one of her arms around his neck and pulled, colliding her lips with his.

They fell back onto the bed, Roy now on top of her. Their lips were lost in a frenzy of passionate, wet kisses, as Roy took control and both reached their pinnacles, the tension in their bodies released at the same moment, causing both of them to cry out together.

Roy flipped their bodies over so that she was resting on him.

"Better than coffee," Riza said, after a long pause to catch her breath.

"Good to know," Roy said with a chuckle, moving his arms to wrap around her.

Riza squirmed slightly, trying to get comfortable. She moved her head to rest under his chin and smiled pleasantly.

"This is nice," he said.

Riza gave a comfortable hum in response. Unfortunately, their comfort wouldn't last. The shrill sound of the phone interrupted their lovely moment. Roy groaned as Riza moved off him and crawled over to answer it. Roy sat up and muttered as he got off the bed and slipped his boxers back on.

"Hello?" she said into the phone. "Major Hughes sir, to what do I owe this call?"

Roy stopped dressing when he heard his best friend's name mentioned. "Mustang? No, I don't know where he is. He's probably sleeping," she said. "If his sleeping habits at home are anything like the ones he has in the office, a mere telephone call isn't going to wake him."

Riza had to hold in a laugh as she saw a pout appear on Roy's face.

"I'll check on him later sir then tell him you called…no sir… no I don't need a husband sir," she said and hung up the phone roughly. She stared at Roy. "And you say Rebecca has issues?"

Roy laughed and slipped on a shirt. "We attract weird people as best friends," he said.

"Yeah, I can't argue with that," Riza replied. She got off the bed and picked up the clothing that had been thrown carelessly to the floor.

"I'm going to take a shower," she said, walking into the bathroom, not bothering to close the door. She turned on the faucets and stepped under the warm sprays of water. Roy walked inside the bathroom, put the toilet seat lid down, and then sat down. He watched as she lathered up a washcloth with soap and began washing. His eyes trailed up and down her body and finally settled on the burn scar on her shoulder. He was lucky to be able to watch such a beautiful woman shower. And she was his beautiful woman, his wife.

"Think we should tell Maes?" he questioned, completely out of left field. He didn't even really think the question would come out, though it had been in the back of his mind for a while now.

"You are asking that now? While I'm showering?"

"Yeah, I mean I am sitting here watching you shower and you, cold stern Riza Hawkeye, aren't doing anything about it. And Why? Because you are my wife."

Riza shook her head. "No, I don't think we should tell Maes," she said, forgetting that she was supposed to ask Roy about telling Rebecca. "He'd have a hard time keeping it to himself, and you know how he likes to tease you in public. What if he accidentally did that? He may be used to secrets Roy but well…"

"You never could bring yourself to fully trust him could you? Will you ever be able to?"

Riza sighed and began shampooing her hair. She waited until she rinsed it before answering his question. She'd thought about it for a while. While she liked Maes and Gracia, she didn't exactly trust them as much as she led Roy to believe. Not out of hate but out of insecurity, out of them accidentally slipping up. With Rebecca, she knew for sure that nothing would ever come out, even by mistake.

"You know I don't trust easily Roy," Riza said. "It took me a long time to truly trust you."

Roy blinked, surprised at the revelation. "When did you realize that you did?"

"That's a stupid question," she said.

"Humor me," he replied.

"When I gave you the secrets of course," she said, turning off the water. Roy stood and walked over to get her a towel from the closet. As she stepped out of the shower, he wrapped it around her. She smiled softly at the gesture.

"Not when we first made love?" he questioned.

"I wanted you and I loved you but strong trust wasn't there yet. Roy, despite my romance novel collection, I am not that much of a romantic."

"Did you ever lose it?" he questioned. "After you saw what I was doing in Ishbal with flame alchemy?" She began drying off and then rewrapped the towel around her body, grabbing another towel to dry her hair.

"Yeah for a while," she answered.

Roy nodded and sat back down on the toilet. He watched as Riza began dressing. He tried to gather his thoughts as he did so. He hadn't expected to hear that she'd stopped trusting him but at the same time, he didn't really blame her. If the positions had been reversed, he would have probably dealt with things the same way, felt the same way.

She combed her hair and then turned to him.

"Coffee?" she questioned, as she started to walk out of the bathroom. She was surprised when he grabbed her wrist.

"Who do you trust?" he questioned, in a rougher yet not unfriendly tone. It almost sounded like he was desperate to know. Like it was almost urgent.

"I trust you…" she said, "And my grandfather of course."

"That's it?"

"Rebecca," Riza said.

"You have got to be kidding?" Roy said with a laugh. "You trust her!"

Riza narrowed her eyes and pulled away. "I trust her with my life Roy," Riza said, unwaveringly.

Roy looked into his wife's eyes and saw unwavering loyalty to her friend, unwavering faith.

"Why?" he questioned. "What did she do to earn it?"

"She was there for me when I needed her. She helped me after Ishbal while you were dealing with things. While Maes was helping you."

"She's your Maes in other words," he said.

"Yes," she said.

"Would you tell her? If I told you that you could?" he questioned.

"Yes," she said, and then sighed, remembering that she was supposed to ask him about that. "Roy, Rebecca she… Shit I don't know how to tel-"

Roy let go of her wrist. "You told her!" he questioned in shock, getting a bit angry that Riza of all people told before asking him.

"No, I mean, yes but… no." Riza stuttered.

"You were fucking worried about telling Maes but you let the raging harpy in on it?"

"Listen to me; I didn't let anyone in on anything. She knows we have a relationship, just not what kind and kindly stop calling her a raging harpy!"

"Riza! Here we are going on about trust. You don't want to tell Maes but you told her!"

"She doesn't know everything!" Riza protested yet again.

Roy ran his hand through his hair and walked into the bedroom. He flopped down on the bed. Riza walked into the bedroom and sat down beside him.

"So what are we going to do?" he questioned.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you. She doesn't' know anything other than we have a sexual relationship. If you want, we can keep it like that. She's not going to screw up and blab it."

"Like Maes would right?" he asked in a bitter tone.

Riza stayed quiet and looked down at the floor. It was quite hypocritical of her to want to tell her best friend but keep Roy's in the dark.

"Do you want to tell Rebecca the truth?" he questioned.

"I do," Riza answered honestly. "I need her to vent when you do make me hurt or angry. I don't feel right…"

"If you tell Rebecca that means I can tell Maes. Deal?" Roy questioned, sitting up. Riza stared into his eyes, seeing that he was completely serious. She thought about it. If Maes knew, he would no doubt tell Gracia eventually, at least let it slip. Rebecca didn't have anyone to tell anything too. Unlike Maes, she didn't have a family to protect, a family that would get in trouble if it were found out that they knew. Rebecca only had her.

"No," Riza said finally, stunning Roy by the decision. "I'll just tell Rebecca that it's over between us," Riza said finally, trying to hide her disappointment. She hated herself for not trusting Maes well enough, not wanting to make that compromise.

"So you break our secret then you aren't even willing to compromise? Instead, cover it with another lie? Damn it Riza. Why can't you just trust Maes? I'm willing to give Rebecca a chance."

Riza truly felt horrible about it. She'd told him why she was against Maes knowing but she was beginning to wonder if the accidental screw up potential was the only reason for it.

Riza stood from her seated place on the bed. "Because I don't … You can trust easily but I can't," she said. Before she could stop herself, she added, "My father made sure of that."

Her eyes widened at her words and before Roy could say anything, Riza quickly left the room. She was actually in a panic over her response. She grabbed a coat and umbrella and quickly left the apartment. Not having any idea where she was going, just that she needed to get the hell out of there.

Roy was stunned and frozen in his spot until he heard the door to the apartment shut. He sat up, looked out of the window, and saw that it was still raining heavily. He wanted to go after her but also knew that if something like that disturbed her enough for her to leave the apartment then she needed to be alone for a while.

"Goddamn it," he muttered, and fell back down onto the bed.

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**AN: Hope you enjoyed it. Please drop a review if you wish. They are much loved. In the next chapter: Trust Issues Resolved and Fullmetal's Challenge **


	40. A Decision Made

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 40: A Decision Made  
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**Disclaimer: ****Disclaimer: ****Full Metal Alchemist and all its characters are the property of Hiromu Arakawa. No profit was made from this fanfiction. The only things that I do own are the OC's if any. ****This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of original characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The author holds exclusive rights to the overall course of the plot. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.**

**AN: *HUGS* Thanks to all of you for all the support with last chapter. Life is getting really hetic lately and I'm trying to both rewrite this, update it, and finish two other fictions. I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
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**A Decision Made  
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Riza walked down the wet sidewalk not paying much attention to the surroundings. The rain was pounding down roughly on the umbrella, making numerous and rather violent pitter patters upon the black waterproof material. Her shoes weren't exactly made for an outdoor environment much less a rainy one; therefore, her feet were getting damp. Her coat wasn't made for the type of weather around her so her skin was slightly chilled more than if she was wearing a proper one. All of those things seemed so distant and unimportant to her as she made her way down the street. All that she could think about was what an idiot she was. What a damned hypocrite she was. The more she thought about her actions the more she realized that she wasn't angry with Roy; she was angry with herself for acting like a child. For rushing out like she was having a damned tantrum.

She felt horrible for not trusting Maes when Roy was so faithful to his best friend. He told Maes things and it never got out to anyone, just as she told Rebecca so much that never was revealed. It was just Rebecca earned her trust, Roy earned her trust. Maes had done nothing to earn it, despite the things he did for Roy. She would rather tell Havoc than Maes because she'd been around Havoc more: knew more about the way he was. She felt bad because Maes had made her a godmother to his daughter (something that required a lot of trust on his part), but she was still unable to return the confidence.

It was very hard for her to trust men to keep their word, and it was her father's fault. That was the part that made her hate him; made her want to cut all ties with him; and to change her name and just forget he ever existed. Of course, the tattoo on her back, with that ink running through blood that was partly her father's, would keep that from happening. Also, unless it was possible for her to completely drain her blood and replace it, a part of her father would always be in there. She'd also need plastic surgery since she looked very much like him. She still needed to work out many issues and she wasn't sure if she could ever fully cope with her feelings regarding what happened. There was an indelible mark on her life that her past burned into her heart; into her memories. She knew that part of him loved her, but one hug from him in her life (the time Roy left the house for the first time) wasn't enough to heal the pain and damage that he caused to her mental state.

As she told Roy back at the apartment, she hadn't fully trusted him until she decided to show him the tattoo. Even during their numerous sexual encounters, complete trust in him hadn't manifested. Both of them were basically at that age when hormones were going wild and they had each other to sate the sexual appetite that they created. With two young people of the opposite sex living under the same roof with an adult who didn't pay any attention to them, what could someone expect?

When she found out that he knew about them, she remembered being so confused as to why her father didn't bother putting a stop to the actions. She had so many questions for the man, but sadly, they would go unanswered. If she were to be honest, it wasn't like she would believe his reasons anyway. He must have known that letting them get together the way they did would be beneficial eventually. He probably didn't give a thought to whether she would be happy or not. No, she could never trust her father or his judgment.

Riza's eyes widened upon realizing something very important.

By not trusting Maes it was almost as if she was telling Roy that she didn't trust him; that she didn't trust his judgment. That wasn't the case at all of course, but it terrified her to think that her husband might take it that way. She knew that by telling Rebecca anything about their relationship, however indirectly it may have been, she almost broke a trust that Roy had with her. By telling Rebecca she risked their careers, even though she knew without a doubt that torture of the worst kind couldn't get Rebecca to talk. Riza laughed; most likely she'd piss her torturers off so much that they'd kill her instead.

She didn't say the things she did to Rebecca to betray him. It was just that she was so tired of arguing over things with him and having no one to vent to. She didn't have that many friends and Roy went out with women to keep up his cover, so he was rather busy and keeping even slightly amused. She knew he wouldn't cheat on her, but sometimes it would have been nice to voice her insecurities to her best friend. How when Roy went out with those beautiful girls she felt so damned ugly. How she was afraid she'd wake up and Roy would decide she wasn't worth his dedication and suddenly just leave her.

She sighed and stopped walking. Despite the need to tell her best friend, she knew it just wasn't right to want to tell Rebecca but not Maes. Therefore, she would live with not telling either one. Perhaps it would be for the best. She'd buy a diary and write down her insecurities, or perhaps take up a hobby to express them. She hated to lie to Rebecca now that she hinted that something was going on, but if it made things right with Roy she would do so. Better yet, she would ask her friend to try to forget what she said. That way, no lies were necessary.

She turned to head back to the apartment so that she could apologize to Roy, but then realized that it might be beneficial to give Roy time to cool off. He might be quite angry with what she said and need time to organize his thoughts. She would go to the grocer and get some food for them first. She didn't have her purse with her, but both she and Roy had a credit account there that was always paid in full at the end of every single week. It wouldn't be unusual for her to charge on Roy's account as well considering she was his aid and he'd told them at the store that she was "kind" enough to do his shopping since he wasn't gifted at doing such tasks.

She turned around and made her way down the street to the grocery store despite her less than stellar appearance. It shouldn't be very crowded this time of morning anyway, especially considering the weather.

---

Roy flopped back onto the soft bed and took a deep breath, taking in the coffee scent that permeated the apartment. He closed his eyes and continued to breathe deeply, trying to process his thoughts fully. His body was tensed and he was a bit annoyed at the incident that just happened. He'd wanted to yell, rant, and scream but that look on Riza's face and those last words she spoke really got to him.

They'd been fighting more than usual due to the stresses of work and it seemed like this brought everything to a head. Obviously, he didn't enjoy arguing with Riza. He didn't enjoy saying mean things or speaking in a harsh, loud tone, and he knew she didn't either. She'd spoken on numerous occasions about how she hated to raise her voice to anyone. She preferred to just be low voiced but stern.

However, today both raised their voices because of the issue at hand. It wasn't that she'd chosen to hint to Rebecca about their relationship that made him angry. If he really examined it, for him, it was more of a trust issue. His trust in her; not Rebecca.

He couldn't help but feel a bit betrayed by the fact that she'd told Rebecca more than she should have. He trusted Riza to keep secrets but now that she told this one, what made him think that she wouldn't tell anything else. How would he be able to trust her about anything again?

As soon as that came to his mind, he sat up and leaned over, resting his head in his hands. How could he even think of such a thing for even a moment? Of course he still trusted Riza. She would never blab anything he needed to keep a secret to anyone unless she knew without a shadow of a doubt that they could be trusted. He felt like he just betrayed her for doubting her loyalty. Yes, she was wrong for telling Rebecca about them, any aspect, without asking him, but to doubt whether she was loyal or not was inexcusable.

He laid down once again and heaved a huge sigh. As much as he would love to tell Maes, he had a family while Rebecca had no one. Riza once told him Rebecca and Grumman were her family before she got officially together with him. They were there for her when he was dealing with his own demons about Ishbal. He was ashamed that he hadn't paid much attention to Riza when they'd gotten back from that massacre. He wasn't exactly in his right mind during that time and apparently, from what she hinted at, neither was she.

The way she spoke during their argument nearly tore him to shreds. Her voice was shaking and those deep insecurities that he knew she always tried to hide, showed through slightly. He could tell how lonely she was as she spoke about her best friend. Sure, he was there with her but sometimes even though you have the one you love, you can still be lonely for some other company: for someone else to talk to. He knew that he frustrated her more than she did him. He would always tell her when she was being frustrating and she would stop or just walk away until he calmed down. She told him about his frustrating actions sometimes, but mainly, unless it was work related, she kept quiet.

When he went out on all those dates to get information or cover their marriage, she sat at home waiting for him to get back. The only time she'd went out was with Edmund and later he learned that was because she really wanted to see the play that he took her to.

He wanted to be able to do that with her without running the risk of being court-martialed. He never did anything with his "dates" that he knew Riza really wanted to do with him. He would only do those things she considered special, with her. She never knew he had that intention in his head.

Madam Christmas's girls were heaven-sent for him because they didn't expect romantic evenings, just a bit of entertainment. They were excellent at getting the information that he needed and a bit of entertaining was a small price to pay to get it. They all adored Riza and Riza was actually fond of them, even without knowing the connection Roy had with Madam Christmas. Christmas insisted that he not tell Riza about the connection and he never told Christmas about his marriage. His world was full of damned secrets that he hoped to get out into the open someday.

---

Riza thanked the grocer as he helped her carry the groceries into Roy's apartment. Since Roy was in hers and it would arouse suspicion if the man saw him, she'd led the man there instead. She was thankful that she didn't have to carry all those things home in the rain.

The grocer was having a slow day due to the weather and he insisted on helping Riza get the items home, free of charge. Riza chuckled. She had a feeling his wife was ranting at him, had something to do with it as well. Really, he didn't know the woman's problem. She was always nagging her husband.

The man had always been so kind to both she and Roy. It was truly a shame that more people favored the larger grocery stores instead of his. However, he did have a very loyal customer base and it was enough for him to be more than capable of keeping his shop up and running. She had a feeling that his kindness had a lot to do with it.

"Thank you Paul," she said. "I really appreciate the help."

"You are welcome Miss Riza," he said. "Say... I haven't seen Colonel Mustang at the shop at all. How's he doing?"

"He's tired from a mission he was on. Half of these groceries are for him," she replied.

"I see," he said. "Well tell him I said hello, will you?"

"Yes I will," she said walking the grocer to the door. "Be careful on your drive back and thank you again."

"You are welcome. You have a good day," he said, walking down the hall and out of sight.

Riza put half of the contents of the boxes in Roy's fridge before putting the rest in one box and carrying them over to her place.

She knocked on her door with her foot, since her hands weren't free due to the box she was carrying. She waited for Roy to answer it. When she moved her foot to kick again, the door opened and it found contact with Roy's shin.

"Oh shit!" he said, bending down to rub it.

"Sorry," she said.

He stood and soon found himself holding a box and wearing a strange expression on his features.

She walked back across the hall, locked and closed his door, before walking back over to her apartment.

She took the box back from him and walked into the kitchen. Roy blinked at his wife's quick actions, which were almost comical in nature. He shut the door and followed her into the kitchen. He noted that her coat was dripping slightly as it was draped over a chair at the table. He took it and walked into the living room. He grabbed his gloves and after slipping them on, snapped toward the wood in the fireplace, igniting it and filling the room with a warm glow and impending warmth. He sat the coat on the table in front of the fire to let it dry before going back into the kitchen.

Riza was now bent over in front of the fridge with a wet cloth, cleaning the shelves before she put the groceries inside it.

"You know, we weren't gone long enough for the fridge to need washed out," he said.

"Hand me the groceries would you?" she questioned, not looking up at him.

Roy lifted the box of groceries and sat them on the counter next to her. He took out the eggs and handed them to her. She sat the wet cloth on the counter and took the eggs from him. They did this in silence until they had a moderately stocked fridge. She shut it and turned to look at him.

"What do you want for breakfast?" she questioned, as she walked over to the coffee pot.

She grabbed a mug and filled it with the strong coffee. She put some creamer in it and stirred it up before taking a sip. It felt good as it ran down her throat, soothing the coolness that the rainy air outdoors had caused.

"I'm sorry," Roy said. "I shouldn't have doubted your loyalty." Roy didn't know how to start a conversation about what happened so he would just come out and be blunt.

"You don't have anything to apologize for. We'll talk after we eat. That way, neither of us will be grumpy from hunger. Now, what do you want for breakfast?"

"Anything, food isn't exactly the prime thing on my mind at the moment," he replied.

"All right then," she said, walking over to the fridge and taking out some milk, bread, eggs, and syrup. "Will you get me the cinnamon out of the cabinet? It should be where we keep the coffee."

"What are you making?"

"Drachma Toast," she said.

"Ah, I didn't know you knew how to make that," he said, feeling awkward standing there.

She turned and gave him a peck on the lips. "Help me?" she questioned, sensing he was slightly uncomfortable and didn't quite know what to say.

She felt a bit of the tension that was thick from the conversation they had. She knew that it confused him that she was being calm at the moment. The truth was that she needed to figure out how to word what she needed to say. She also wanted to eat so she could focus a bit more. She was extremely hungry.

"I'm really hungry right now," she said, explaining her diversion of the subject he wanted to speak about. "We can talk after that. Alright?"

"Yeah," he said, kissing her neck quickly before walking over to get the cinnamon from the cabinet.

--

Roy helped her fix the food and after they ate and washed the dishes, they walked into the living room. Riza was surprised when he took her hand and led her to the bedroom. He laid down on the bed and pulled her down to rest against him.

They laid there in silence for a long time until Riza finally figured out what she wanted to say.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so hypocritical. We don't have to tell Rebecca. I'll just ask her to forget what I mentioned. I'm sure that she will--"

"You can tell her Riza," Roy said, interrupting her.

Riza sat up and looked at him with shock, her right hand still resting on his chest. "Wha...what?"

He rested his hand over hers. "I said you can tell her," he said. "And yes it was a bit hypocritical but I understand your reasoning."

"But...what about Maes? I betrayed you Roy," she replied, still stunned that he'd given his permission to tell Rebecca about them.

Roy sat up and moved a strand of hair away from her face, something that had become a small gesture of his affection toward her.

"You didn't betray me, you just...you just wanted someone to talk to about things. I can't blame you for that. You share a bond with Rebecca that I should have understood. I mean, I would lie if I said that I hadn't thought of it as betrayal at first. I would be lying if my trust in you didn't waver for a moment, but then it came back. Riza, I trust you with every fiber of my being."

"I should trust your judgment with telling Maes. I feel like I am betraying you now by not trusting Maes. I hurt you by hinting at Rebecca. I made a mistake by even starting all of this. I seem to be making all these mistakes that make us argue."

Roy smiled softly. "We are only human. The way I look at it, both of us made mistakes. What makes us so great is we realize that and can deal with it before things get too hostile."

"He pulled her back down to rest against him, and then pulled the covers back over them. She rested her head on his chest and rested her arm across his stomach.

"What about Maes? Do you want to tell him?"

"I do but not until you feel you can trust him."

"I'm sorry I don't right now. Not fully. That doesn't mean I don't care about him, Gracia, and Elecia though."

"Humm...Gracia and Elecia. . ."

Riza raised her head to look up at Roy. "What about them?"

"Well, if Maes knew and we somehow got discovered, Maes would end up being court-martialed as well if they find out he knew and didn't report it."

"Yeah, pretty much. Didn't we agree on that before?" she questioned.

"Um...don't remember," he said.

"Figures," Riza said with a laugh. She moved her head to rest back down on his chest.

"Yeah, I don't have a very good memory," he said.

"You have every alchemy book at the library memorized," she said with a laugh. "Don't you that as an excuse. Then again, it is alchemy: the love of your life."

"Wrong, you are the love of my life," he said.

"Um…I don't remember becoming that," she said, mocking him and causing him to chuckle.

"Okay, I get your point," he said, closing his eyes and relaxing. They opened again when Riza spoke to him.

"Are you sure?" she questioned.

"About?"

"About letting me tell Rebecca," she said. "If you tell me that I can't, I won't. If you aren't comfortable with it I--"

Roy kissed the top of her head. "Tell her Riza," he said.

Riza turned around to rest on her stomach and hugged him tightly, shocking him.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice quite emotional.

Roy wrapped his arms around her and scooted further down under the covers.

"You're welcome love," he said.

* * *

**AN: Sorry for not having the Fullmetal vs Flame but I wanted to get a good chapter out to you since it's been so long. If I would have included the flame battle this chapter it would have been a 10,000 word chapter. I'm still in the process or rewriting this fic because of certain reasons but I hope you enjoyed this. I will try to have out another chapter as soon as I am able. Hopefully, a bit later this month since I have 1000 words of the next chapter done. Please review and don't worry, I am not giving up on this story! *huggles* **

**NOTE: has been giving me a bit of trouble upload wise so please tell me if you see any off formatting and things so I can fix them.  
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	41. A Puppy's Appearance

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 41: A Puppy's Appearance **

**Disclaimer: ****Disclaimer: ****Full Metal Alchemist and all its characters are the property of Hiromu Arakawa. No profit was made from this fanfiction. The only things that I do own are the OC's if any. ****This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of original characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The author holds exclusive rights to the overall course of the plot. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.**

**AN: I can't believe how people have responded to this story. Thank you all so much.**

**AAN: I've taken liberties with the dog situation because I thought of a cute idea. Same manga/anime thing but with more cuteness thrown in for good measure. **

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**A Puppy's Appearance **

Riza groaned and shifted her body to rest on her right side, the bed squeaking as she did so. She sighed and pulled the covers tighter around her body. She attempted to make her body relax by breathing slowly and deeply, hoping those actions were a catalyst for a good night's rest. After trying this option for ten minutes and it having no affect on her body whatsoever, she opened her eyes and frowned, the corners of her mouth and space between her eyes crinkling with the action.

For that entire day, after the discussion with Roy, she'd been tense and uneasy, jumping at the slightest thing and feeling a strange sort of guilt of which she couldn't pinpoint the proper origin. The combination of varying emotions overtook her and kept her subconscious from drifting into the world of sleep that her body so desperately needed.

She turned to her left side to gaze at her husband. He was sleeping so soundly that he didn't feel like he needed to use her like his living, breathing stuffed animal for once. His mouth was opened slightly, small puffs of air being sucked in and expelling from it, bringing with it a small, airy whistle sound. He was resting on his back with one of his arms resting across his stomach while the other was over his eyes. His body was completely relaxed and she couldn't help but be thankful that no nightmares were haunting him that night. Roy's life was covered with stress, and the more sleep he could get the better he would feel.

She slowly sat up in bed, being very careful not to wake the man sleeping beside her. She scooted back so that her back rested against the red oak headboard of their bed. She rested her hands on her lap and sighed, trying to figure out what was causing her body to reject its basic need of rest.

After staring around the room, her gaze fell to her hands. She was barely able to make them out in the grey darkness of the room. It was storming outside. Clouds were blocking the moon and the rain was dulling the lights that normally shone through the sheer curtains that hung over the windows. She focused on the patting noise of the rain as the wind blew it against the windows; each one clinking like someone was throwing small pebbles at the glass.

"Riza? You alright?" a sleepy voice spoke. She turned her gaze to look at Roy, whose eyes were now uncovered and staring at her with their sleepy glance. She smiled and nodded but apparently, it wasn't good enough for him. He yawned and sat up in the bed, he too scooting back against the headboard and letting the covers fall to his lap. He moved his hand to put a strand of hair behind her ear and leaned in to kiss her gently.

"It's not like you to be awake. What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I just can't seem to get to sleep," she said. "I'm sure I'll figure out why eventually."

He turned to glance at the clock and then back at her. "It's one in the morning if you don't find out soon you won't get any sleep."

"Yeah, I know that but I don't think my body gives a damn," she said with a slight laugh. Roy put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him, causing her to lean against his body. She smiled softly and breathed in his wonderful smell. They sat there for a long time, just reveling in each other's company. It wasn't often that they got this kind of peace.

"It's raining," Roy grumbled, breaking the comfortable silence that had overtaken them.

"It's been raining since you fell asleep."

"Well, at least I'm not out in it," he said. "Doesn't the rain usually help you sleep?"

"Yeah, sometimes it does," she said, "but tonight I don't think even sleeping pills would have that much of an effect. Then again, they might not anyway. I think I developed a tolerance toward them when I was in Ishbal. "

"What's been on your mind?" he questioned. "Maybe it's just some thoughts."

"I shouldn't be keeping you up. You will have a rougher day tomorrow than I will. You should-"

"I should make sure my wife gets to sleep."

She didn't know what to say to him after that. Roy was always sacrificing something for her, case in point: allowing her to tell Rebecca about them but not telling Maes. Suddenly, Riza realized that the guilt from allowing him to do that was what was keeping her awake. It was so obvious that she almost hated herself for not thinking of it sooner. Lately, she felt like she was being so self-centered and everyone was suffering for it. She really needed to straighten herself out and become a better wife to Roy and a better officer to Colonel Mustang.

"Riza, love?" Roy questioned, noticing how she spaced out. When Riza got this way she was usually thinking of some sort of thing that she deemed bad, but anyone else would deny as being negative. He was guilty of it as well, so he tended to understand more than someone who didn't possess that gift of self-blame.

Riza moved around to sit on her knees so that she could face him. "I love you," she said.

Roy was surprised at the sudden declaration of love that she made toward him. "Yes I know that and you know I love you. Now stop trying to hide what you were thinking."

"Hide?"

"Yes, you got lost in thought and most likely figured out what was preventing your sleep," he said.

"You know me too well," she said with a slight smile and moved to sit back on her butt and lean against him, resting her head on his bare chest. She closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat, making no verbal move to tell him of her realization.

"Riza, get your thoughts out," he said, referring to her mental sleep obstacle.

"They are fine where they are," she said. "I can sleep now. I've decided what I need to do."

Roy heaved a huge sigh. "Damn you are stubborn," he said.

"That's why we match so well," she replied, her body relaxing against his.

"I feel like this conversation is going nowhere. Was the fact I woke up ultimately useless to you?" Roy waiting for a moment then repeated his question in different words, once again receiving no response. He looked down at her and saw that her eyes were closed and her breathing was steady, indicating she was sleeping soundly.

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "I guess not."

---

Roy muttered as he and Riza left the apartment building, Riza handing him an umbrella before opening her own and stepping out into the downpour. Roy opened his and stepped under the precipitation as well, groaning and cringing as the rain hit the fabric of his black umbrella. The rain was still pouring violently down upon the earth. Each time it hit the sidewalk it would cause a little splash and make a tiny cracking noise. All of those tiny splashes created a wet glaze of water upon the pavement and all the cracks sounded like small firecrackers exploding.

"I thought it was supposed to be dry and sunny in the east. I mean the desert is not even a few miles from here. You'd think rain would get the hint it doesn't belong." Roy said, as he walked beside Riza. No one would think anything of them arriving at work together since she was his bodyguard.

"Sir, you are talking like the rain has a personality and is a living breathing thing."

"If I didn't know better I would say it does and is a living thing. It loves to make me miserable."

"Maybe you should have studied a different form of alchemy. That way you would have something to fall back on when it is wet outside."

"Do you have any more alchemy secrets anywhere?"

"You know every part of my body sir," she said, "I think you have the knowledge to confidently answer that question."

"Yeah, I guess so," he said. "Eastern Headquarters could at least provide a car. I mean, we had one in Central."

"Central is a very large city. This city isn't as large and everything is within walking distance of headquarters. We don't need a car."

"We do when it rains."

"You mean that you do when it rains. Most of us have no trouble with rain."

Roy muttered under his breath, causing Riza to grin inwardly. She enjoyed teasing him about the weather when it was as wet as it was. The wind whipped through the area and Riza took the hand that wasn't holding her umbrella and pulled her coat tighter. "I need to get a new coat. This one is becoming useless," she said.

"Please don't use that word around me on a day like this," Roy groaned.

"Sorry," she said.

"It's all right. You should buy one of those new leather coats in the shops. The new style ones. I heard they are really comfortable," he said.

"And really expensive too."

"And we have the money to afford it," Roy responded.

"You have the money to afford it," she replied. She didn't like to spend money that Roy had, and preferred living off what she made from work.

"We," he corrected. "What's mine is yours. You know that."

"That doesn't mean I should go out spending large amounts of money."

"I didn't say large amounts. A new coat is practical."

"Right, and so is buying a cheaper coat."

"Don't you like the newer coats?" he questioned.

"Of course," she said.

"And you'd like to own one?"

"Yes but that doesn't mean I'll just go out and purchase one. We can't always have what we want."

"You aren't normal," he said.

She turned her gaze toward him. "Pardon?"

"Any other spouse would leap at the chance to spend money but not you. I can't even get you to buy a stylish coat."

"I don't like to do it. You should respect that."

"I do sometimes Riza. It's just you never buy anything for yourself. It's always the basic necessities and that's it."

"It's just the way I am," she said.

Roy sighed and nodded. They walked around the corner and headquarters came into view. "This was nice," he said, as they got closer and closer to the huge grey building that looked ominous thanks to the dark clouds looming in the background.

"What was?"

"Our conversation. It was rather domestic and normal."

"Yeah, it was."

"So you will buy the coat then since we had a nice conversation?"

"No," she said.

"Damn," he replied.

Roy looked up at the clock tower and stopped in his tracks. "Why do we have an hour before work?" he questioned.

Riza directed her head to the timepiece and she cursed lowly. "I completely forgot!"

"Forgot what?" he questioned.

"We were supposed to set our clocks back last night. It's actually 7 a.m. instead of 8."

"Damn, that was an hour of sleep that I missed," he said.

She turned to look at him. "I'm sorry. It completely slipped my mind."

He smiled at her lightly. "Don't worry about it. Let's just go on to headquarters. We can get warmed up there."

"And get a head start on our work," she added.

"We can get warmed up," Roy stated again, displaying that he wanted to ignore work for as long as possible.

"If you keep procrastinating it will lead to problems. You should try to stop doing that."

"I will...later."

---

Roy and Riza entered the building and closed their umbrellas, shaking the water droplets off the shielding instruments. Roy walked over to the elevator and pressed the button to get to the proper floor, as Riza went through the door to the staircase. By the time Roy arrived on the proper floor, Riza was already in the office hanging up her coat.

"When are you going to start taking the elevator?" he questioned.

"When my legs give out," she said. "It's only four floors sir, it wouldn't hurt you to walk either."

"I'm too old to walk," he said, causing her to chuckle.

"You are only twenty-nine years old," she said.

"Soon to be thirty," he said. "Next month remember."

"Oh yes, I'd forgotten," she said. "The big 3-0. Wow, I guess you are old," she spoke the last sentence in a sarcastic manner.

Roy stopped at the door to his private office and turned to her. "You are supposed to make me feel better. Not worse."

"I never thought you'd obsess over your age so much," she said, continuing to joke with him while the chance presented itself.

"Oh? You shouldn't talk. Remember what you said when you turned twenty-five?" he reminded her.

"We can forget about that," she said, sitting down at her desk and looking down at her desk calendar."

"Oh no we can't. As I recall it was, and I quote, 'I'm twenty-five which is mid twenties and after that I will be not in mid twenties and as a result I will be in the declining portion of the twenties and soon in the thirties.'" Roy laughed as the memory played in his head as he spoke.

"Not exactly my most intelligent or most articulate speech," Riza said with a chuckle.

"No, not at all."

"Aging is different for a woman," she said. "We are deemed over the hill at thirty now. Men are always considered great at any age."

"Society will change that notion."

"Not in my lifetime," she said.

"I don't think you'll ever be old," he said.

"I hope not. If I live to be old then that means we failed at our goals."

Roy stared at her for a bit and nodded. If they succeeded in overthrowing the current government then it was very likely that both of them and Armstrong would be executed: Maes would likely be banished instead because he had a family. Of course, none of his supporters knew of that. If they did, then they weren't letting on.

"Do you think people would continue to support me if they knew that? If they knew the likelihood of Ishbal participators being executed?"

"I don't think Ishbal soldiers would be. I think it would be mainly the state alchemists and our sniper unit."

"Maybe the sniper unit would be spared."

"Not likely," she said.

"Why do you say that? If normal soldiers would be, then I can see no reason that sni..." he trailed off when she looked at him with a haunted gaze.

"We wouldn't," she stated simply before looking back down at her calendar. Roy decided not to say anything else. Riza had her own inner demons and events that happened in Ishbal that she'd never revealed to him and it was likely she never would. He made a move to enter his office but Riza's next statement made him stop.

"You apparently have a meeting with Edward Elric scheduled for today," she said.

"What? Who scheduled that?" he questioned.

"It doesn't say. You did tell him to go inspect the coalmines. He's probably on his way to give you that report."

"Damn it," Roy said and walked into his office muttering about annoyances in life.

"You are the one that got him to sign up to be a state alchemist," Riza reminded him.

"Yeah, I'm hoping it will pay off someday," he said.

"You got promoted for finding him," she said.

"That's only the small percentage of what I hope to gain," he stated.

"Migraines aren't enough payment from him?" she joked and heard Roy. She stood and walked over to his door. "I'm going to make some coffee. You want some?" she asked walking over to his desk.

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. I like it black with no sugar."

"As if I didn't know that already," she said and walked out of the room. He stood and went to the lounge where she was making the coffee. He locked the door behind him and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her just as she was scooping the coffee into the filter.

"Not at work," she said.

"This is all I will do, I swear. I just need to relax before the munchkin comes in."

"You know if you didn't provoke Edward, there would be no yelling. All you have to do is leave anything related to short out of the conversation and things would be fine."

"Restraint isn't really one of my strong points," Roy said. He leaned over to kiss her cheek and pulled away from her. He unlocked the door and opened it, before going over to sit on the dark blue couch situated in the middle of the room. He leaned back and propped his feet upon the table in front of him, causing her to sigh but ultimately decide not to say anything.

"You have a meeting with General Grumman today as well," she said.

"Ah, Grandpappy Grumman," he said. "I never dread meeting with him."

"That's because you two are just alike and all you do is play chess during your meetings," she said.

"Wrong. It's true we play chess but we discuss business while playing chess," he replied.

The coffee was soon finished and she poured two mugs full, adding creamer to hers. She walked over to him and handed him his mug just as she heard the elevator chime.

"See you in the office sir," she said, walking out of the room.

Roy sighed. Now it was back to formalities.

Soon Roy was bombarded with paperwork and working frantically to finish it so that he would be up to date on everything and his meetings wouldn't get him behind. One of the highlights of him instantly beginning it was the shocked looked on Riza's face. It made all the paper cuts, ink stains, and monotony worthwhile. She laid down the last file and left the room without a word, no doubt needing time to process the fact that he was actually working.

She went back to the paperwork office to turn in the things she'd already filled out and got more work for the men in the office. On her way back, she was surprised to see Roy walking toward her. "I'm done with the majority of my work. Now I'm on my way to my meeting with Grumman."

Riza nodded, not letting the shock show on her face as he walked past her. She slowly made her way back to the office, once again, trying to process the fact that he actually did his work.

She got to the office door when she heard a shout that sounded like it came from Breda. She walked into the office and blinked in astonishment at seeing the chuffy man on top of the tall filing cabinets, his face smashed up against the drop panel ceiling, causing the panel to lift slightly. He had a look of abject terror on his face as he stared down at the floor. Havoc walked in the door and looked at Riza then at Breda, then back at Riza.

"What the hell?" Havoc questioned. "Did you scare him or something?"

"Of course not."

"Then why does he look like he's going to shit himself in fear?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," she replied, sitting the folders in her arms on the table beside her. Havoc started to speak again when the door opened and Falman walked through. He spotted Breda and his eyes widened to where it looked like he actually had eyes.

"What the heck is wrong with him?" Falman questioned and turned to Riza and Havoc. "Did you scare him Lieutenant Hawkeye?"

"Why in the heck do people ask me that every time someone looks fearful? I'm not a scary person." She tensed when the two men looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Okay, forget I said that. No, I didn't scare him Falman."

"It's hideous!" Breda shrieked. "It's the spawn of Satan! The bane of existence to all that is good in the world!"

The other three officers looked at each other and then back at Breda. Havoc stuck a cigarette in his mouth and walked over to the file cabinets where the man was perched.

"What's the problem Breda," Havoc questioned, as Hawkeye and Falman moved to stand next to him.

"It's evil!" he said.

"What's evil?" Havoc asked.

"It's all around the office, there's nothing protecting us. Over there, it's over there!" he said pointing at the thing that made him so terrified.

Riza, Falman, and Havoc stared in the direction Breda was looking. They were surprised, though they didn't show it, to see a puppy sitting there wagging its tail cutely. He barked and Breda nearly shot up into the ceiling. It then whined and Breda shrieked.

"See! There's its battle cry!"

"Care to explain this one Falman?" Riza asked.

"It's a dog. Carnivorous canine mammal. The Genus canis. Scientific name is Canis familiaris. The species is thought to have descended from wolves and they have a tendency to hunt in packs.

"That's not what I am asking Falman. You really need to loosen up."

"Yes, Ma'am Lieutenant Hawkeye, I will try my best to do that," he replied.

Fuery walked up to the puppy and bent down to pick the animal up into his arms, it barking happily. Riza smiled inwardly. The tiny animal was so cute. It reminded her of a dog she wanted as a child. Of course, her father didn't allow her to have one.

"Sorry sirs, I found him this morning, he was all on his own."

"Are you going to keep him?" Havoc asked.

"No, I wish I could but I live in the dorms and they don't allow pets."

"If you can't care for it then you shouldn't have brought it here," Riza stated, even though she would have probably done the same thing.

"But it looked so sad and helpless sitting there in the rain that I couldn't help myself," he said. "You are higher ups. Couldn't one of you keep it?"

"I live in the dorms too, so I can't do it," Falman said, patting the dog on the head.

"No way! I hate those satanic spawns!"

Fuery sighed in frustration. What kind of soldier was afraid of a tiny puppy? It was ridiculous.

"I'll take him off your hands. I like dogs," Havoc said suddenly, grabbing the puppy by the scruff of the neck and turning around to walk toward the door.

"Thank you Lieutenant Havoc. He's really sweet."

Havoc flicked his cigarette up and down a few times in his mouth, formulating a joke in his head. "Sure, I heard their good when stir fried with a few spices."

Fuery's mouth dropped and he turned pale. Beads of sweat began falling down his face and his eyes widened and watered up out of sheer horror upon hearing Havoc's comment.

"Yes, here in the east they raise these things as delicacies. Especially these plump ones," he said.

Riza grabbed the dog quickly and handed him back to Fuery. "You'd better find him a better owner."

"Right," Fuery replied.

"Oh please, it was a joke," he said. Everyone looked at him sternly with narrowed eyes of disbelief, as if they actually expected him to be one of the people out east that actually ate dogs.

The dog looked up at Riza and barked. It tried to get out of Fuery's arms and to Riza but it was to no avail. She stared at it for a moment before directing her head to the door when it opened.

"Hey, Edward, Alphonse. Welcome back," she said.

"Should we come back later?" Edward asked.

"No. It's fine. The colonel is in a meeting right now but he'll be back around noo…" she trailed off when she heard a loud meow. "Strange…"

Edward and Al both tensed up significantly.

"Excuse me, Al and I need to talk," Ed growled and pulled Al out of the office, the young man letting out a screech of surprise.

"Edward, don't' forget about your report."

Ed peeked back around the door. "Right, noon, got ya," he said and closed the door behind him.

The officers left behind stood there in silence for a few moments before they heard a cry come from Alphonse, a scream from Ed, then a cat meowing and metal clashing.

"Something evidently went well," Havoc said sarcastically, earning a nod of agreement from his coworkers.

Riza and the others walked over to their desks and Riza began distributing the paperwork. After that was done, she sat down and began filling hers out. Fuery sat the puppy down at his feet and began his own work. Soon the office was filled with pens and pencils scratching words on the papers in front of the officers. The small puppy rested at Fuery's feet, playing with his boot string for a while until he lost interest and started sniffing the ground. He made his way to the smallest feet and rubbed up against them. He sniffed them then barked, causing Breda to leap upon the table.

"I thought you had a hold of that filthy beast," he exclaimed.

"Calm down Breda, he's over here," Riza said. "Far away from you."

Breda leaned over to make sure she was telling the truth then took his place back on his chair. He began to work on his paperwork, occasionally looking down to make sure the puppy was a good distance away.

The other men stood as the lunch bell rang. Lieutenant Hawkeye, could you watch the puppy while I go to the mess hall for some lunch. I know you always bring your lunch and…" he trailed off as he timidly requested the favor from his commanding officer.

"Go on, I'll watch him. You should try to find an owner down there."

"Right," he said, walking to the door.

"And Fuery," she added.

He turned around. "Yes?"

"Don't ask the cook or any of the kitchen staff," she said.

Fuery paled and nodded rapidly before leaving. Riza closed her file and reached in her desk drawer for her small lunch bag. She removed a tin cooler that kept her lunch cold and sat it on her desk. She began eating her turkey sandwich when she felt a nudge at her foot and a heard small whine. She scooted her chair back and saw the puppy looking at her with a sad look on its face.

Sitting her sandwich down, she stared at the animal for a moment before motioning to her lap. The puppy barked and tried to jump upon it, only to fall. She extended her legs at an angle and the puppy looked at her oddly. "Walk up them," she explained, feeling a bit silly for talking to him.

Much to her surprise, the puppy barked and slowly stepped upon her boots. He made his way up her legs, clawing at the fabric with its slightly sharp claws, causing it to wrinkle. It finally barked in triumph at making it to her lap.

Riza grabbed her sandwich, tore off a piece of turkey, and fed it to the dog. She continued doing this throughout lunch, until her entire sandwich was gone. She then gave it a bit of her cold milk in the lid of her lunch tin before finally putting everything away. The dog leaped upon the table and moved to sit in front of her file as she began her work again.

"I wonder how Roy would feel if I got a dog?"

She suddenly heard a loud noise and tensed up. She leaped from her chair an rushed over to the window. When she saw the dozens of cars outside, she paled. Why in the hell were the fuehrer and his men at Eastern Headquarters?

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**AN: If all goes well you should have another chapter by next Friday. Wish me luck on my school speech that's due Monday and my test Thursday. I loves you all and please drop a review.  
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	42. Ed's Challenge and the Office Pool

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 42: Ed's Challenge and the Office Pool **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit whatsoever for this fanfiction. Any characters similar to a person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. **

**AN: Here's a new chapter on Friday, just as I stated. I was very happy to see the enthusiasm you had for a new chapter. Thanks so much for all the lovely reviews. If I didn't get to replying to your review, I'm horribly sorry. I try my best to reply but sometimes my computer decides to be an infernal, shit in the box and it won't let me. Just know that I really appreciate you all reading my story and every single review I receive. In this chapter, once again, I switch things up. You should be used to that by now from me though, right? XD Hope you enjoy the chapter. **

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**Ed's Challenge and the Office Pool**

Roy cursed as he stared at the papers lining the red oak of his desk. When he thought he was finished with one layer of the paperwork, another bunch of folders presented themselves like endless layers upon layers of forms, requests, and ridiculous budget reports about one office using more pencils than another. If some of this useless paperwork could be cut down then the government would be much better off. Then again, they could assign lower officers to do this kind of work. Perhaps this was Central's way of keeping him in check.

Roy groaned inwardly as he sorted through them in much the way Riza usually did when she had great amounts of work. He put budget reports in one pile, requests in another, and other forms in yet another. He wasn't usually one to be organized, but if it got him through this paper cut risking desktop battlefield, he was more than willing to turn into an organizing guru.

He cursed when his excellent hearing heard footsteps making their way toward his door. Those footfalls were unmistakable. The first step was a normal clump against the wooden floors but the second was a much louder clump accompanied by a slight clink of metal, an indication of automail. He leaned back in his chair and gazed down at his desk to see that the several reports involving Edward Elric was in front of him by no organizing from him. Fate, if there was such a thing, must have deemed that this meeting was necessary.

As expected, a moment later there was a loud knock. Roy picked up the first folder and opened it, sighing in dread as his eyes ran over the first few words.

"Come in," he finally said.

He didn't look up as he heard Edward enter the room and shut the door behind him.

"I'm here to give my report," Edward said.

"Could you possibly do something without causing great amounts of property damage?" Roy asked, getting right to the point.

"Okay okay, so I blew up a few things. The ends justifies the means right?" Ed replied, instantly relaxing, He sat down on the black couch and crossed his legs.

Roy growled and laid down the folder he was holding in favor of picking up another of the many reports that littered his desk, looking like moderately sized manila tiles. "I told you to go to Youswell and inspect the coalmines. Instead, you got Yoki demoted and kicked out of his post."

"He was cheating the people there out of any profits and taxing the hell out of them," Ed retorted. "Besides, the guy was an idiot and the last thing the military needed there. He was even cheating the military."

"I'm not arguing that what you did wasn't the right thing. In fact, the higher ups appreciate that aspect of your mission. Yoki deserves every negative thing he gets thrown at him, but you forgot one little detail regarding your mission there," Roy said, the last part of his sentence coming out quite harshly.

"And that is?"

"You forgot to inspect the damned mine," he replied, laying the folder down on the table roughly, and doing his best to keep his hostility in check.

Ed laughed nervously, "I knew we'd forgotten something."

Roy sighed and picked up a new folder, still not exposing his desk because another report was under it. He opened it and narrowed his eyes. "I also don't recall telling you to go to Liore and unseat their favorite prophet. Why'd you go there in the first place?"

"Um…Major Hughes told us that there were rumors about a red stone there. Since we finished with Youswell early we went there," Ed said.

Roy stared at the words in the folder, continuing to read down the page. He also made a mental note to slap Maes the next time he saw the man.

"At least in the end it was a good thing for all involved," Edward said.

"Oh? You think so?"

"Yes," Ed said. "The people are no longer fooled by a fake prophet and nonexistent god, and a town ripe for uprising is now under military control again."

Roy slowly put down the folder he was holding and picked up another one, laughing inwardly that he could now see a slight bit of red oak peaking out between two folders. He opened it and spoke, "Xenotime."

Ed's eyebrow twitched.

"You know, I heard a strange rumor this morning about that town and its land baron Mugear. Apparently, he's missing and his mansion collapsed into rubble. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"

Ed lifted his hand to his chin and scratched it, his voice taking on a deliberately ignorant tone. "Yeah, Xenotime, now where is that again? It's a city, right?"

"Maybe I should have you file a report on the red water too. It might be a thing to have, just for good measure of course."

Ed's eyes narrowed into bowl shapes and a few drops of sweat appeared on the right side of his skin, causing a weak shimmer in the spot when the light hit it at a specific angle. His posture slouched and he let out a frustrating grunt.

"Oh, I almost forgot. We also had a little inquiry from a detective in Aquroya. First, it was a call to confirm who you were. Since I was preparing for a mission, I didn't have the pleasure of talking with him the first time. General Grumman told me about it. Then, this morning, I got a call to see if you could return there to recapture Psiren. Of course, I told them you were busy and that they should hold off on her until we could send another alchemist there." Roy put the report down and leaned on one hand, his elbow resting on the table. He closed his eyes and grinned as he thought of something that would get under Edward's skin. "So tell me, is it true that Psiren's a real "ten" under the mask?"

Ed's eyes widened and his pupils dilated as a dark red blush appeared on the pale skin of his cheeks. He turned his head away from Roy and leaned back against the couch as he remembered her little breast action incident. The woman was definitely a ten… definitely.

"So you know everything I do? Is that what you are trying to tell me? Great, I'm glad we had this talk."

Roy sighed and stood, the wheels of his chair making a steady clicking noise as it rolled a few inches away from his desk. He put his hands behind his back and walked over to the window to stare out at the dull, rainy day. "Settle down Edward. You could at least attempt to look like you're following orders."

"Why? So I can turn into another one of your toadies? We do have other objectives you know?"

"Yes and you aren't very well succeeding in them now are you? It's been quite a while Edward and you haven't come up with anything substantial."

Edward stood and made a fist with his automail hand. He stared down at it for a moment and spoke, "I'm going to find it no matter what."

"Very well, you are dismissed," Roy said, deciding that there was no need to continue the meeting. He actually had faith that Edward would find a way to restore his and Alphonse's bodies someday. "Just stay out of trouble and you will save us both a lot of headaches."

Edward turned to him and bowed in respect before he headed toward the door. He stopped when he realized that he needed to ask Mustang a question. He turned back around to see Mustang was still staring out the window.

"Colonel, tell me if the name Marcoh rings any bells for you. He's a doctor and alchemist who showed up in Xenotime without any background five years ago. Apparently, he cured the poisoning caused by the red water, which no one else could do using some kind of alchemy. You always seem to know a little about everything, and the military's bound to have a file on someone that skilled."

Roy had an extremely difficult time not letting his emotions show in any outward manner when Edward mentioned the man. Roy steeled his voice and responded to Edward's question. "The name isn't familiar, no. I'll check on it and let you know if I find anything."

Roy and Edward were surprised and turned around quickly when the door to the office suddenly opened. Hawkeye entered, a look of extreme seriousness plastered on her normally neutral face. Usually she always knocked, so they knew it must be something urgent.

"Company sir," she said. She rushed further into the room, and took her place at the left side of Roy's desk. Her posture took on perfect military attention. Roy turned to face the door fully as dozens of soldiers stepped into the room, their boots cracking thunderously against the floor as they did so. They lined up on the left and right sides of the room and the door. He growled inwardly as one of several banes of his existence entered the room: General Basque Grand.

He stood in front of the doorway and examined the room as if it was too beneath him to enter it. His lip was snarled slightly and the skin at his forehead was wrinkled in slight disgust. He knew that Riza would be more than happy to shoot him in the middle of that forehead, letting the blood cover up his emotional indication.

Basque Grand was a grandiloquent, arrogant, asshole who was always willing to try to destroy anyone if it made his rise to the upper echelon of the military easier. Of course, both he and Riza seemed to be on the target list but for very very different reasons. Grand hated him because he was a colonel at such a young age, and would most likely pass him in rank within a few years.

He hated Riza because he'd made an advance toward her and she'd turned him down flatly and, rather pugnaciously, with a rough kick to the testicles. He didn't like being denied anything and especially not by a woman. He saw women as servants to men and it irked him that they were even allowed to serve in the military, much less be an officer.

Roy gritted his teeth and cursed a string of curses in both Xingese and Amestrian, weaving them together in a multi-language sentence that went against all rules of proper grammar, dialect, and structure. He glanced at Hughes who just tilted his head to the right and shrugged in a nonchalant manner, a small grin appearing on his lips for a few seconds.

Roy redirected his gaze to Basque Grand, clicked his heels together, and saluted, hoping someday Grand would be saluting him instead. Oh, how he'd love that day. No, he had something better planned for Grand. He'd put the swollen-headed, bunghole under Riza's command. Yeah, that was far worse that anything he could think of. However, until then, he had to be a good officer and show some fictive respect toward the man. "What brings me this pleasant surprise Brigadier General?"

Riza glanced over at Roy for a second, noticing how unpleased he was about the situation. She'd been inwardly tempestuous when she saw those men filing into headquarters without as much as a warning to anyone from Central. She was even angrier that Hughes didn't even bother to notify them about the situation. She knew that he had plenty of time to do so.

She stared at the General and withheld the urge to rip his throat out as he began his winded speech. She didn't hate many people, but that man had the distinction of being at the top of the list, even over General Hakuro. The only person that would ever knock him off his top position would be someone who tried to kill Roy.

"As of today," he boomed, "we will be taking over this Eastern HQ as our temporary Central Command."

"May I ask what's wrong with the one in Central, sir?" Roy asked, his confusion even greater over the chain of events that were occurring. He was shocked further and lowered his hand when he heard a very familiar laugh.

"I know Mustang, I asked the very same thing," the Fuhrer said, walking into the room when Grand stepped out of the path to the doorway. His secretary was walking a few feet behind him with her head lowered and her eyes closed. She looked like a submissive little woman who did whatever she was told without argument. "Sorry for the hassle. Everyone, at ease now." He had a huge smile plastered on his face, his eyes closed and one hand lifted, palm out, with his fingers closed against each other. As usual, he was completely relaxed: as if all was right in the world.

The Fuhrer's demeanor always sickened Riza. Despite his lovely attitude, the man was a cold-blooded monster. He allowed Ishbal to happen and did nothing to stop it other than to order all the Ishbalians exterminated. He treated the soldiers like his little pawns to move and sacrifice as he saw fit.

"Fuhrer Bradley, welcome sir," Roy said.

"Your job isn't to ask questions, Colonel," Grand began speaking again. "The Fuhrer and his staff will run this place, both to operate as Central Command and to observe how good a job you are doing controlling this region. I trust that you will make us comfortable."

"Yes sir," Roy said, skillfully pushing away the desire to torch the man to the back of his mind.

---

Within the hour, Roy and his team moved out of his larger office into a smaller one to better accommodate the Fuhrer and his staff. The Fuhrer hadn't requested the change but Roy figured it would be a good gesture so that he could better improve his relations with him. Grand was clearly displeased with the fact that Mustang was going along with the situation so calmly.

Edward was even kind enough to help with the move, assisting Riza in carrying the files out of the office and into the smaller one. Roy thanked Edward and dismissed him as he walked into his private office, adjoined to the office that Riza shared with the other men. Riza quickly organized her work area and then entered Roy's office with several envelopes. She shut and locked the door behind her and watched as Roy sat down roughly in the chair behind the desk, the piece of office furniture squeaking under his weight.

Riza walked over to his desk and sat the envelopes on the left side, where there was still some room left.

"I…hate…that…man…" Roy growled. "If the Fuhrer had any sense at all he'd get rid of the guy before he tries a coup or something."

"Like we are planning eventually?" she questioned.

"We aren't planning a coup," he said. "We are planning to slowly take over the spot."

"Okay then, a gradual coup," she said.

Roy laughed, "Okay, that works."

Riza nodded and then sighed. "I owe you an apology sir," she said, changing the subject.

Roy turned toward her and looked at her oddly. "For what?"

"I didn't get to warn you in time. I saw them out the window as they were entering headquarters. Grand spotted me on the way here and I was order to escort them to your office right away."

Roy grinned. "You have no reason to apologize for that. At least you tried."

"Unlike some people that didn't even make an attempted warning," she muttered. "Hughes most likely had chances to tell you when they were on their way, but he didn't take them."

"You know Maes, Riza. He was probably just trying to keep me on my toes."

"That keeping you on your toes is fucking dangerous," she said. "He doesn't need to keep you on your toes. He needs to be working to push you to the top. If he keeps putting you in surprising situations then-"

"Riza, calm down," Roy said, taking her hand and leading her over to lean against his desk. "Calm down," he repeated again. "It's not like you to get angry over such a small event."

"A small event? Roy, this could have had serious repercussions if things hadn't been going so well here so far. It makes me angry that he ran such a risk."

"If it was any danger at all to me then he would have warned me. I am certain that he knew everything was all right. You need to learn to trust him."

"I suppose so," she said, uneasily. There was the trust issue coming to the subject of conversation yet again. She hated the word trust and everything it meant because it was always disregarded repeatedly in her life. It was something that made her ill at ease and then she felt weak for feeling that way. She needed to get rid of that failing but there was no way to do so. To get rid of those trust issues she needed to trust which was the issue in the first place.

Roy stood and leaned in to kiss her lightly, letting his mouth linger close to hers. He stared into her eyes and moved his lips to brush against hers once more. Riza grinned, moved away from him and toward the door. "I need to finish my paperwork now," she said.

"Riza," Roy said, when she placed her hand on the doorknob. She turned to look at him. "Even if you don't trust Maes, please trust my judgment about him. That's all I ask."

She smiled at him and nodded before unlocking the door and leaving the room.

--

Riza walked into the main office and looked at the men at the desks who were working on their paperwork perseveringly. She quirked an eyebrow at their professional mannerisms but didn't voice anything about the oddity.

"I'm going to go to the paperwork office. I'll be back in a minute," she said, leaving the office without waiting for a response from them.

--

Riza grabbed the last of the paperwork from the office and made her way down the hallway. The pile was quite large and she had to be extra careful to balance it. She thought she would succeed in getting it to the office without dropping it, but someone suddenly bumped her roughly causing her to fall onto the floor and the paperwork to fly out of her arms and scatter everywhere. She sat up and watched as General Grand turned the corner, laughing loudly.

"Riza! Are you all right?" a voice said. Riza turned to see several of the girls from the secretary pool around her picking up the paperwork for her. She looked back at the girl on her left and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine Cindy, thanks." She said, getting up and straightening her jacket. She began picking up the papers until everyone had them back to their normal stacked appearance before her "fall."

"What a jerk," one of the girls said.

"Careful," Riza warned, "You don't want someone to hear you and report it back to him."

"He was so rude to us. I believe he came to our section just to try to piss us off," Cindy said.

"That sounds about right," Riza replied.

"If General Grumman hadn't come along when he did I don't know if I would have had the self restraint to keep from shooting him."

"That would have just gotten you thrown in jail," Riza said.

"Something has to be done about that prick," another girl said.

"What prick would that be?" a voice said, with a hearty laugh. All the girls turned around and instantly saluted when they saw that the Fuhrer was standing there.

"At ease," he said. "Lieutenant Hawkeye, I saw that you were having a bit of trouble there with keeping your papers in your grasp. May I inquire what caused this difficulty?"

"General Grand knocked her over," another girl said before Riza could speak.

The Fuhrer quirked an eyebrow and nodded, "I see, and he was being rude to you ladies as well?"

"Yes," they all said.

"I will talk with him," he said. "He will be ordered not to get around any of the women here."

"Thank you sir," they all said and saluted.

"That includes you Lieutenant Hawkeye," he said.

"Thank you, Sir," she replied.

He nodded and made his way down the hallway and out of sight.

"He's such a lovely man," one of the women said.

Riza resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She had to give the Fuhrer credit where credit was due: he had everyone fooled.

--

"Rebecca told me that if I saw you to give you a message," Cindy said while taking half the paperwork from Riza and helping her lug it back to her office.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, she wants to meet you for coffee in the lounge at two o'clock," she replied.

"Did she say why?"

"She mentioned that you needed to tell her something," Cindy answered.

Riza froze. She'd almost forgotten! She was supposed to tell Rebecca about her marriage eventually. A bit of guilt festered in her stomach but she instantly squelched it. Now wasn't the time to be thinking of that.

"Riza… you alright?" Cindy asked.

Riza shook her head and focused on her friend. "Yeah, I'm fine. If you see Becca would you tell her that I'll meet her there?"

"Sure," she said.

"Thanks," Riza said. They entered the office and sat the papers down on a long table. Riza thanked Cindy for the help and the young blond left, but not without Havoc hitting on her.

He sighed and walked over to Riza to help her with sorting the paperwork.

"It's still badly out of order, I got tripped by General Head in the Ass," she said. Havoc chuckled and began studying the page numbers and topics of the forms.

Riza looked around the room to see that the others were missing. "Where is everyone?"

"They went to return their papers to their proper places and Fuery went to hunt down an owner for that puppy."

"I see," she said. "It is a cute little thing. I'm sure he will be able to find it a nice home."

Havoc grinned. "Why don't you take it?" he questioned.

Riza looked at him and laughed. "Do you think I am the type that would own a dog?" she questioned.

"I don't know, you always tend to surprise me after all," he said.

Riza smiled slightly and looked back down at the papers. "No, I couldn't take care of a dog."

"Yeah, I suppose taking care of the colonel is enough, right?" he chuckled.

She nodded and the room got silent for a moment until Havoc broke it.

"Did you happen to hear anything interesting while you were out?" he question.

Riza looked at him and blinked. "No, why? Should I have heard something?

"Well, no, not exactly. You see, there's been some contemplating going on around headquarters," Havoc said.

Riza narrowed her eyes, "What do you mean contemplating?"

"People are contemplating about who's stronger, Fullmetal or Colonel Mustang," he said.

"And who started this…contemplating?"

"Well…um…" he said, hesitantly, fully indicting himself as the one who started it.

"Damn it Havoc!" she snapped, "How could you do something like that?"

"It was just a slight question I brought up while we were moving and it sort of spread all over headquarters." Riza muttered a string of curses as she began sorting the paperwork roughly. "I didn't mean for it to get out of hand. It was just a simple question I posed," he added, not wanting her to be angry with him.

Riza sighed heavily. "I know. It's just that this is the wrong time for something like that to happen." Inwardly she was screaming for time to just slow down. If it wasn't one thing spiraling out of control, it was another. She just wanted to lie down and grip the ground until this merry go round of events stopped.

"Yeah. I just wanted you to hear it straight from me that I-"

"Hey Havoc," Breda said, walking through the door with Falman and Fuery. "There's a rumor that Fullmetal challenged Mustang to a battle assess…" He trailed off when he saw Riza standing there gazing at him.

"Ment," she said, finishing his word. She turned back around and started to stack the folders with the paperwork inside them, trying to calm her nerves. The men slowly filed in and Riza noted that Fuery was still holding the puppy but was also holding a bowl and a small bottle of milk.

They all sat down and Fuery went to the task of feeding the small animal. She smiled inwardly and her nerves calmed as she watched the small animal consume the liquid.

"I can't believe Edward would do such a thing. It's so risky," Fuery said, snapping Riza from her observances.

"Rumors aren't anything to be going on. Until I hear it confirmed by either Edward or the Colonel I won't hold my breath."

"I didn't even know anything about battle assessments. Does the army really do that?" Fuery questioned.

"Yeah, sometimes. What happens is the alchemists go against each other in a mock battle and they are graded on how they use their skills," Havoc said.

"Then Ed is crazy, the colonel is one hell of an opponent to take by choice," Fuery stated.

"You are going off rumors," Riza reminded them yet again.

"Let's say that these rumors turned out to be true. Who do you all think would win? If they were giving it their all?"

"It's got to be the flame," Fuery said.

"I don't know. Fullmetal is basically an expert in hand to hand and his alchemy skills are second to none," Falman said.

"But Colonel Mustang has experience on his side," Fuery argued.

"Does it matter?" Riza questioned. "Nothing will come of it. It's just a rumor."

She grabbed a few of the folders and made her way into the colonel's office. She opened the door and was surprised to see that he wasn't in the office but all of his paperwork was done. She walked over and sat the folders she carried on his desk then took his finished ones. She walked out of his office and back into the bigger staff office.

"Where's the Colonel?" Riza questioned.

"He took his lunch break since he worked through noon," Havoc said. "I didn't think you'd mind since he finished everything."

Riza nodded. "I'm going to take these to where they belong, and then I'm taking my break. Sort out the rest of the paperwork and stop it with the rumors."

She walked out of the room and the men looked at each other. When they heard her footsteps fade, Havoc took out a huge poster board and a permanent marker as Breda took out his note pad.

"She'd kill us if she knew we were doing this," Breda said.

"Yeah, well, she doesn't have to know," Havoc replied.

"But what if it is a rumor?" Falman said. "You'd be doing all this for nothing."

Maes walked through the office and smiled widely. "It's not a rumor. I was there right when Fullmetal made the challenge. The Fuhrer is contemplating it. Where's Roy, I want to tell him."

"He's gone to lunch," Havoc said.

"Damn," Maes said. He moved his glasses further upon his nose and walked over to the table. "What are you guys doing?"

"Pool on who would win between the Colonel and Ed," Breda said.

"One hundred on Roy," Maes said with a laugh, sitting his money down on the table.

---

Riza arrived at the lounge at exactly two o'clock: just as Rebecca directed. She poured herself a cup of coffee and decided that she would put off her revelation until they were at the range, when there was no risk of revealing it to anyone else. She sat down on the couch and waited for ten minutes.

She finished her coffee and took her cup over to the sink. After washing out the mug, she headed to the door but found herself bumped by her anxious best friend.

"You're late," Riza said.

"Sorry, had to get in on the latest pool," Rebecca stated.

Riza growled and narrowed her eyes, "Pool? What pool?"

"Um…you don't know about the pool?" Rebecca questioned nervously, the vein on the right side of her forehead twitching, causing her eye to twitch slightly as well. It wasn't good that Riza didn't know what was going on, and it definitely wasn't good that she had to be the one that would have to explain.

"No, I don't know," Riza growled and grabbed Rebecca by the ear. "But you are going to tell me aren't you?" She dragged Rebecca further into the room and shut the door behind her roughly.

"Ouch! Rizzzza! That hurts!" Rebecca yelped.

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	43. Take a Valium

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 43: ****Take a Valium**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit whatsoever for this fanfiction. Any characters similar to a person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. **

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**Take a Valium**

Riza led Rebecca over to a couch, pulling her by the ear roughly. She finally let go of the body part, which was now red thanks to the pressure the blond lieutenant placed on the cartilage. Rebecca sat down on the leather couch situated in the lounge while rubbing her ear and glaring at Riza, who returned the look without flinching in the slightest.

"God, Riza, you'd think by the violent way you were acting that I was the one that came up with the pool."

"I know you didn't start it. In fact I have guess about who did and I'm betting I'm 100 percent right on my guess," Riza said.

"Then why did you try to tear off my hearing tool?" Rebecca questioned.

"You bet in it!" Riza snapped. "That is an additional spark added to a flame that could spiral completely out of control." Riza began walking back and forth, surprising Rebecca at how annoyed and slightly worried she looked. Riza wasn't really the type that paced the floor; it was a foreign action for the blonde.

"Riza, you really need to take a Valium or something," Rebecca said.

Riza stopped pacing and turned around, "Am I that much of a wreck?" Riza questioned.

"Yes, you've been tenser than usual lately," Rebecca said.

Riza moved to sit down on the couch. "Yeah, it's just that we are supposed to be helping Mustang reach the top and things like this happen. Everyone does things like start betting pools and risk his command. He's going to be further demoted if this keeps up."

Rebecca looked at her oddly, "Further demoted?" she questioned.

"He got sent here didn't he?"

"But he's a colonel," Rebecca stated.

"This Eastern Headquarters is a part of the most active and uneasy region of the country. They wanted him out of Central so they treated it like a promotion and sent him here."

"Does Mustang feel like that?"

"Yes, he does" she answered with a nod of her head. "He would have rather stayed a lieutenant colonel in Central than to come here and be a colonel. He would have the same control but be where he could impress more higher-ups."

"Wow," Rebecca replied. "Well, if he takes care of a lot of the issues here then they will have no choice but to bring him back to Central. He can build up a very good reputation here and gain more supporters."

"Oh, they'll have a choice. If he does too well here then they could give this position to him permanently. Just like they did to General Grumman," Riza replied.

"Oh, I never thought of that," Rebecca said.

"Also, this region is so dangerous that the colonel runs a greater chance of being killed. If that were to happen, a few higher ups in Central would be as happy as clams at high water," Riza replied.

"But you aren't going to let that happen though, right?"

Riza nodded. "Not if I can help it. I'll take a bullet for him without hesitation." Rebecca cringed causing Riza to look at her oddly. "What's the matter?"

"I don't like that thought," she answered. "The thought of you jumping in front of a bullet scares me."

"It's a reality that I've prepared to face someday. The thing is, I can't keep my mind on protecting the colonel without relying on others to keep things in order. A fucking office pool isn't order."

"I think people just want to relax and have a bit of fun. A bet isn't going to hurt things at all."

"Becca, it makes the colonel's command look like it's full of irresponsible officers and it makes him look bad. I can't trust them to-"

"Last time I looked Riza, it wasn't your job to pick out who Mustang could trust," Rebecca said.

"He trusts me with making sure that things are in order under him," Riza replied. "I can't do that when the majority of his direct subordinates are acting like children."

"Okay, Riza. I've always given things to you straight haven't I?" Rebecca questioned, her voice a bit angry but at the same time possessed a tinge of friendly concern.

"Yes," Riza said, not expecting Rebecca to speak in such a tone.

"I love you dearly but if you keep that stick in the ass attitude up no one will like you and no one will trust you or confide in you. Just…"

"Stick in the ass?" Riza snapped. "I'm trying to-"

"You need to just chill out and realized that you need to trust people more. You aren't the only subordinate that Mustang has; you are just the one that takes herself and her job too extremely. Get over whatever goddamned block that's shielding you from trusting others. Go to therapy, talk to Mustang, talk to me. Just do something. That lack of trust you carry will only bring you trouble," Rebecca said. "Trust Roy's other subordinates and stop being high and mighty Riza."

"I am not being high and mighty!" Riza snapped. "You just don't get it."

"Maybe not but it's not in Mustang's best interest for you to act the way you are doing. You are going to work him to extremes. If anything goes wrong with the betting pool then we will deny Mustang had anything to do with it."

"And that will make things worse that he didn't know about it…"

"Then we will make up another excuse. Chill," Rebecca said and left the room, a bit upset that she spoke that way to her friend but glad she finally did. Maybe Riza would break off a bit of the ice on her shoulder and the burden on her back.

---

Riza sat back against the couch for a moment processing the events that just happened in her head, playing them back like reels of film. She really did need to think on many things. She came there to the lounge expecting to have to talk her way out of talking about her relationship with Roy; instead, she got a good chewing out. Now she wouldn't have to lie to her friend about her relations.

The last thing she was expecting was for Roy to enter the room.

"Hawkeye, I wasn't expecting to see you in here," he said, walking over to the coffee pot and frowning when he saw it was empty. She laughed to herself, stood and walked over to the coffee pot.

"I'll fix some more coffee sir," she said.

"Thanks, I never can get that coffee pot to work properly," he said. He leaned against the counter and watched as she effortlessly fixed the coffee, her hands in an organized pattern even when she did such a menial task. "Did you hear any odd rumors lately?" he questioned suddenly.

"You mean regarding a certain battle assessment?" she asked, turning around to face him.

Roy sighed and his face dropped. "It's not a rumor?"

"No sir, Edward apparently really requested to fight you. The fuehrer is mulling it over right now. I don't know why Edward would request that."

"He's angry with me I think," Roy said. "He inquired about Marcoh. He thinks I know something about the man."

"And you do of course," she replied.

"Yeah, and I can't tell him and he's angry because he knows I know and I won't let him know that I know."

Riza laughed, "Poor wording."

"I'm too stressed to worry about wording," he replied.

"Still, his anger isn't a very good reason to risk losing his certification," she said, "And fighting you is certainly a risk."

"You think I'll win?"

Riza smiled at him, "Without a doubt in my mind."

"If I do beat him he won't necessarily lose his certification. He will be graded on his skills. Besides, I don't think the fuehrer's going to allow such a thing to happen."

"Hey Roy! Are you in there?"

Riza groaned and turned to the coffee pot to pour Roy a cup of coffee as Maes walked into the room.

"Oh! You two alone? Should I come back la-?"

"What do you want Maes?" Roy said, cutting him off.

Riza handed Roy a cup of coffee as Maes began to speak. Roy took a sip and sighed inwardly, she always fixed coffee perfectly. No one could ever get it as right as Riza did.

"The fuehrer has agreed for you to fight Ed for his assessment! Isn't that going to be fun? I've been looking for you everywhere to tell you!" he said, excitedly.

A small bead of sweat appeared on the corner of Roy's right eyebrow as the vein on the opposite side of his head twitched slightly, a sign of his agitation.

"And I suppose you know where this battle will be taking place?" Riza snapped before Roy had a chance to ask the exact same question. Roy turned his gaze to her, surprised at the slightly caustic tone she used with Maes. Her gaze was on fire but the rest of her screamed tiredness, at least to him.

"Sure do!" Maes piped, not paying any mind to Riza's tone and obviously not seeing her frustration. "We are going to use the parade grounds."

"Men are going through their drills there today," Riza said.

"Nope, the fuehrer has dismissed the drills especially for this battle. He said he'd find it entertaining."

Riza sighed and stared at him for a moment before finally deciding to leave the two men alone. "Excuse me, Sirs, I have some work to get done before the…event," she said, a bit harsher than her normal tone of voice. As she walked by, she muttered under her breath, "Can't trust anyone anymore."

Roy watched her as she left the room, incredibly shocked and wondering what brought on her mumbling.

"What's wrong with her?" Maes questioned, "She's being rather… gruff."

"Maes, I think she's about to crack."

"Well you couldn't blame her. She really needs to loosen up a bit. She always acts as if she carries the world on her shoulders. If she keeps stressing she's going to end up giving herself a heart attack."

"Yeah," Roy said, trying to hold back the worry in his tone. In a way, Riza did carry the world on her shoulders, though she didn't have to do so.

"Oh, what am I talking about? I'm sure she'll be fine. Riza's far saner and calmer than the rest of us. She stable and reliable," he said. "Those are good qualities to have."

"You think so?" Roy questioned, turning around and washing the now empty mug. "You know, she's a human being, not a robot. Sometimes I think people forget that." Roy sat the coffee mug on the countertop and turned to look at his best friend.

"I never said she wasn't a human being Roy. She just knows how to handle things, knows how to deal without a scene. Don't be so worried. She'll deal with whatever is bothering her. Besides, if you worry too much people will find out about your fraternizing and you'll be separated."

Roy almost let his standard look of surprise, wide eyes and an open mouth, show on his face. He'd momentarily forgotten that Maes didn't know about their current marital status. Maes would sense something right away if Roy didn't reply with the perfect response. The man was so gifted in reading people it was scary. He and Riza were very careful to maintain that professional distance around him. Maes sensed there were feelings of course but didn't know the extent of those feelings.

"Maes, I wish you'd give it a rest and realize that Riza and I have no romantic feelings toward each other whatsoever. She's a very old and dear friend and nothing more than that," Roy lied. He hated that he couldn't really be honest but knew that it was the best course of action to take.

"Yeah, I figured nothing that deep was going on. You two really wouldn't match," he said. "She's really not your type."

"Exactly," he agreed, though he actually disagreed in reality. He would ask Maes about that comment later to find out why they weren't compatible. He really didn't like it when people told him that. People didn't know them as well as they thought. Even their close friends had been fooled by the fronts they erected. By the actions that they plastered on their bodies day after day, week after week to form that perfect wall and appearance that wouldn't endanger them or the people around them. They were already in danger due to his goals; the last thing they needed was something else to worry about protecting.

Yet, he wouldn't take a solitary thing back. He still would have married her despite the risk it posed to both of them and knew Riza felt the same way. Unlike what Maes, hell, what everyone thought, they balanced each other perfectly. They understood each other in a way that he was sure no other two people on the planet could penetrate.

Roy's mind then drifted to what Maes could possibly think was his type. Did his best friend really think those bimbos he dated were his type? Did Maes really see him as that playboy that he pretended to be? If so, then he was doing much better than he thought at his act, which would both please and annoy Riza to no end.

"Roy, you alright?" Maes questioned, bringing him out of his thoughts. He looked at his best friend and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he responded, "Why do you ask?"

"Because you were staring off into space," Maes said.

"I was?" Roy asked, and then cursed to himself. He'd been thinking so deeply that he hadn't realized that he'd been doing such a thing. He'd have to be more careful.

"Let's get going," Roy said. "What time is this assessment going to happen anyway?"

"This afternoon since the rain stopped," Maes said, then stopped. "Wait, Hawkeye mentioned something about drills, they wouldn't do that in the rain."

Roy stopped and turned to him. "Special forces. They do drills in the rain,' Roy replied.

"Ah! For a minute there I thought she was lying," he said.

"But you said the fuehrer dismissed the drills how could she be lying if even the fuehrer mentioned them."

"I forgot it was raining for a moment and got confused. Besides, I should know that Hawkeye doesn't lie," Maes said. "I feel bad now." They began walking once more.

"Ah, we all make mistakes. Just remember, Hawkeye may be a lot of things but she's not a liar."

"Not even to protect you from something?"

"I honestly don't know what extent she'd go regarding that," Roy said as they walked into his office. Roy was surprised when he saw that all the men were working rapidly on their paperwork, their eyes never looking up from the various forms piled in front of them.

Roy shook his head and started to walk into his office when he spotted something through his peripheral vision. He turned his gaze to the trashcan beside Havoc's desk and narrowed his eyes. There were two large pieces of poster board sticking up out of the can, seemingly screaming that something that was less than conductive to work, was previously going on.

He stalked over to the garbage can and pulled the two large pieces of board out of it. He walked over to a table and put the two together, flat on the plane surface.

"Battle Assessment Poll…" Roy read aloud. He shot a glare at Havoc who tensed up along with Breda. "Just what were you thinking?" he snapped.

Roy ran his eyes down the list and noticed the only ones that didn't seem to bet was Riza and Fuery. He looked up at Maes with a narrowed gaze, causing him to take a step back. Every time those dark, slightly creepy eyes of Roy's stared at him he felt like the man was trying to set him on fire.

"You bet…" Roy stated.

"Well, um… yeah."

"Hughes, do you know how much trouble something like this can cause? I know you do."

"It's not like anyone would talk about it."

"Get your money back from Havoc," Roy said. "And if I see anything like this again I will not hesitate to punish every last one of you. Do you all understand," Roy said, calmly.

"Yes sir," they said.

"Any other time I would be more than happy to go along with this for fun but you know now wasn't the right time for something like this," he said.

"Lighten up. The fuehrer really wouldn't give a damn. It happens all the time in his office. It's fun among the officers and he understands that's needed."

"Whose side are you on?"

"I'm on whatever side that is best for everyone to relax. It wouldn't hurt Lieutenant Hawkeye to buoy up either. You know that."

"Yeah, I suppose," he said and sat down in the chair behind the table.

"Havoc, you can have this pool but don't take anymore bets. It might be good to get something to relax everyone."

"Great, now I don't have to give the fuehrer's money back to him and think of a way to explain why it was cancelled.

"The Fuehrer made a bet!" Maes and Roy exclaimed. Roy stood and looked down at the pool checking for the fuehrer's name and Maes ran around the table to look as well.

"Who'd he bet on?" Maes questioned.

"Um… he's not on here," Roy said, and directed his gaze to Havoc.

"The fuehrer asked his name not be written down on there," he said.

"So, who'd he bet for?" Maes asked.

"I can't say," Havoc said, "The fuehrer asked me not to."

"Damn," Roy muttered.

"Sir, most are betting Fullmetal will kick your ass," Havoc said.

Roy growled something in an almost inaudible voice. Maes could barely make out something about unfaithful subordinates."

"Even Lieutenant Catalina bet against you," Havoc said.

Roy looked at him patently. "And that surprises you? The woman hates me. She's only supporting me because Hawkeye asked her to."

"Yeah, I don't really know why I was surprised. She's always been in poor taste," havoc said.

"Fuery, since the chief said it was all right, do you want to place a bet?"

"No thanks," he said, stacking his paperwork. "I don't bet on things like that."

"Who would you bet for if you did then?" Maes questioned.

"Kick his ass sir," Fuery said to Roy before leaving the room to take his paperwork to its proper destination.

The puppy started to follow but realized that it shouldn't leave the office yet. It ran under the table and went to hide when Havoc stared down at him. Roy noticed it and blinked. "There's a puppy in here," he said, taking in the extreme cuteness of the small animal. It stared at him with brown eyes, oddly reminding him of the way Riza stared at him sometimes.

"Yeah, Fuery found it this morning in a box out in the rain and brought it in. He has to find someone to take it by the end of the day or it goes back where it was. Hawkeye's orders," Falman said.

Roy looked at Maes, "Wouldn't you like to get a dog for Elicia? This puppy would be a nice gift."

"No, can't. Gracia is allergic to dog hair. You don't think I'd have one already if I could?"

"Yeah, I supposed you'd have an attack dog to protect her," Roy replied. He bent down and motioned for the puppy. "Come here pup."

The pup ran toward him, stumbling a bit, and Roy picked it up.

"I didn't know you liked dogs Roy," Maes said as Fuery came into the room.

Roy stood straight, holding the dog in his hands. "I love dogs!"

"Sir! Do you mean it?" Fuery said excitedly as he walked up to Mustang. Maybe Mustang would take the puppy home.

Suddenly, Fuery saw a slight glint in his eye as Roy swooped in toward him quickly. He could have sworn he heard a whoosh of air as the colonel moved toward him. He had a very odd, maniacal grin on his face.

"Of course! Dogs embody loyalty!" he boomed, sounding spine-chillingly like Armstrong. Everyone in the office suddenly felt very awkward standing there. "They follow their master's commands above all else!" He suddenly put the dog out in front of him and started to shake it up and down, making Fuery wonder vaguely if puppies could die from shaken puppy syndrome as babies could from shaken baby syndrome. "Be mean to them and they don't complain and they never once beg for a paycheck!" he exclaimed, his tone increasing in volume the more he spoke, ascending up the sentence like one would ascend up a latter or ascend the note scale. "Trust me Fuery! They are the great servants of man!'

Now he was really sounding like Armstrong and making the other officers wonder if maybe dogs had some kind of smell that made the Colonel go crazy.

"Loyal canine how we salute the!" Roy sung horribly and spun around like an uncoordinated male ballerina. The puppy in his arms whimpered slightly at the motion, even the animal looked at him as if he was half-baked. Roy let out a loud laugh, reminding Maes of one of the scientists in the horror movies.

"What in the hell are you doing to the poor animal," Riza questioned, entering the room and not fazed in the slightest over Mustang's crazed actions. She grabbed the dog and gave it back to Fuery. "Don't let him around this puppy. It's dangerous for all involved."

"Oh, come on Lieutenant, you know I love dogs!" he said, not earning, nor expecting, a response.

"Maybe the battle has him manic today," Havoc said. "Does it have your nerves on end?"

"Of course not," Roy said. "It's just a simple assessment."

"What's this doing here?" Riza said, pointing to the pool on the table.

"The colonel is going to let us continue the pool," Havoc said.

"Oh?" she said, looking at her husband. "Sir, you do know that this can get you in…"

"The fuehrer even bet on it," Havoc piped. "No worries. Chill out," he said.

"Chill out," Riza muttered, going over to her desk and grabbing the paperwork. She was growing tired of people saying that to her. They didn't seem to realize that it still reflected badly on them to have the damn thing. The fuehrer could be testing them. She cursed a string of curses in her mind as she gathered the folders up.

"Battle assessment is in an hour," Riza said, putting on her cold tone. She wanted to hear nothing more about any pools, bets, or lightening up. If she did she wouldn't be responsible for who she maimed. She would just avoid people until the assessment and then, hopefully, relax at home tonight.

"Want to place a bet Ma'am?" Breda questioned.

She stared at him for a moment, not letting any emotions appear on her face. She could see that the longer she stared at him with her "hawk's eyes" the more he tensed and shifted in his seat. Finally, she spoke in a flat tone, "No."

She walked around the table and left the office without another word. Her posture was more like that of someone who was being inspected during a march than that of someone who was merely leaving the room.

"Anyone got any Diazepam?" Maes said, maybe we could slip her a couple.

"Shut up Hughes," Roy said.

--

Riza walked down the hallway trying to make herself relax. Maybe she was worrying over nothing. Maybe the fuehrer really wasn't upset over the pool. Maybe it wasn't a test. Maybe Rebecca was right and she just needed to stop stressing and learn how to trust Roy's subordinates to do the right thing and protect him. Maybe she should see about getting some Valiums. She chuckled at the last thought and instantly wiped the possibility to take meds from her head. She would get Roy to give her a massage and help her distress.

Unfortunately, to say the things that she should do and actual follow through were two different things, though she would follow through on the massage of course. Overall, she believed it was in her nature to worry. She'd worried about her father growing up despite his rough treatment toward her and she worried about her grandfather and his love for all things salty and greasy. She worried about Roy being discovered. Worry was a part of her life. She dismissed her thoughts when she heard a voice that she despised.

Riza tensed up even more as she spotted General Grand talking, or rather, bawling out, a lower officer who was standing at attention like a statue. She was relieved that she would turn the corner before she got to him and wouldn't have to walk past the man. She withheld a jump when his head turned in her direction and his dark gaze fell upon her, raking in her appearance and ignoring the officer standing beside him.

Though he had nearly the same color eyes as Roy, they were completely different when one looked into them. Roy's eyes had a slight tinge of dark blue in them, a characteristic of his Xingese heritage. His eyes held all sorts of emotions within them, sometimes they made her want to cry, other times they made her feel like the happiest person in the world. Grand's eyes were stiff and filled with agitation and perversion. He clearly didn't care about anyone and didn't care if people knew it.

Roy's eyes were beautiful while Grand's eyes were about as beautiful as rotten flesh on an Ishbalian corpse. She enjoyed so much looking into her husband's eyes and getting lost in them but with Grand, obviously, she didn't want to stare into those orbs, afraid that they would try to corrupt her.

She finally arrived at the corner and quickly turned it as fast as she could without letting her unease display to the crazed general. It wouldn't do for him to realize that she was slightly afraid of him. He would try to use that to his advantage the first chance he got if he knew.

She calmed slightly as she made her way down the hallway, trying to lull her beating heart with deep breaths. However, she stopped quickly when she heard someone call her name.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye."

She turned and tensed up significantly when she saw who it was that spoke. She moved to try to salute when she saw it was the fuehrer standing there, smiling at her. The folders she held kept going in different directions as she tried to balance them with one arm.

"It's quite all right. You don't have to salute," he said, gently placing a hand on top of the folders to keep them from toppling over. He offered her that kind smile that she could clearly see masked a cruel demeanor.

"Thank you, Sir," she replied, transubstantiating her voice into one befitting an austere soldier. If she could fool the fuehrer into thinking she was completely loyal to him, then it would throw any existing suspicion that may exist about not only her but Roy as well.

It was hard to pretend to be comfortable around him when he made her extremely uneasy. He had that same chilling aura that Grand carried without the perversion. It was as if he could get anything he wanted in the world without any effort and, since he was fuehrer, he very well could.

"I want to ask you something Lieutenant," he said.

"Yes sir?"

"I suppose you know about this little office pool that is going on about the assessment, yes?" he said, not indicating that he possessed any agitation over the situation.

"Yes sir," she said, knowing there was no point in lying.

"And did you bet in it?" he questioned.

"No sir, I'm not the betting type and especially not at work."

"Hum… That's all I wanted to know," he said. "Continue on with your task at hand. You will be there at the assessments correct?

"Yes, Sir. It is my duty," she said.

The fuehrer laughed. "Lieutenant, if more soldiers were like you we would have the perfect military. You are doing a great job here. It hasn't and will not go unnoticed." He punctuated the last sentence by changing his voice tone and pitch significantly.

Riza felt a chill trail up her spine when he said that, and it wasn't even close to a good feeling. It felt like a premonition that in end, she would regret that he noted her work. "Thank you sir," she said, turning and walking away from him.

"Oh, and Lieutenant Hawkeye," he said, causing her to stop and turn around.

"Yes sir?"

"This pool will have no effect on Mustang's position," he said and walked back into his office.

Riza felt herself shaking. She felt just like she did when she first killed a man. It was that nervous quivering that one couldn't stop until time passed by, or they cleared their mind somehow. It was the palpitation that happened when one felt like they were completely filthy: like they were violated. She quickly made her way to the paperwork office, before making a beeline for the shower room.

She grabbed a towel from her locker before going into one of the shower stalls, pulling the curtain closed, undressing, and turning on the hot water as high as she could stand it.

She let it pour over her and soak her completely, causing her still pinned up hair to become more and more imbued with water until it got very uncomfortable. She reached back, unclipped it, and let it fall from her grasp and onto the floor with a clack.

She closed her eyes and raised her face toward the shower head, letting the steaming spray hit her directly in the face, breathing in the steam, and attempting to relax her body and clear her mind.

She began rubbing her arms, trying to rid herself of the bumps that felt like they were ready to egress her skin, and the sickish feeling her stomach was acting out. His words were so very simple but the way in which he spoke it.

The way his brown eye bore into hers, made her feel dirty. As he stared at her, it was as if he was trying to engulf every thought in her brain and bring them out of her through her retina. He made her feel as if her entire body had been defiled in some way. That she was tainted because that monstrosity complimented her on how she did her job. Was she that cold? So efficient and effective that a loathful feeling thing like him would be happy with her work.

She sat down against the shower wall, the water pounding down on her pale flesh, drifting down her skin in small drops, and then hitting the faded peach colored tile floor before going down the drain along with the water that fell around her. She hugged herself and shuttered. She never spent that much time around the fuehrer so she didn't know if that was just an effect he had on everyone or just one he was conveying to her. It felt like a foreboding presence had taking over her and was sticking to her like a thick sweat that wasn't visible outwardly but lined every body cavity and organ within her.

She couldn't tell Roy what was going on. How she felt and about the way the fuehrer acted. It would only worry him. She rested her chin on her knees and shivered again. Something bad was going to happen in the near future. She could feel it within her and she needed to be prepared for it. She refused to let Roy fall, even if she fell while doing it.

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**AN: Okay, from now on I'm not even going to attempt to predict what is going to happen in the next chapters. Why? Because every time I do, I end up not getting to it. I started this chapter with every intention of giving you the Alchemy battle but then I didn't get to it. I get complaints about difficult reading when I go over 5500 words per chapter so I don't. So next chapter will come but I can't say what will be in it. I PLAN to put in the alchemy battle next time but as I said, I won't say what will happen next**. **Really though, I think that's the best kind of writing. Never knowing what will occur next chapter. Thanks for reading and I really hope you enjoy this chapter. Please drop a review my way. They are much loved and huggled.  
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	44. Flame Verses Fullmetal

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 44: Flame Verses Fullmetal **

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit whatsoever for this fanfiction. Any characters similar to a person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. **

**AN: Parts of the alchemy battle and Riza and Rebecca talking will get confusing unless you pay really close attention. It didn't flow well when I stuck in dividers too much so you'll have to read carefully. This chapter actually turned out funnier than I really had planned. I hope you all enjoy it very much.  
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**Flame Verses Fullmetal**

Riza slowly stood from her place resting against the wall of the shower stall and moved over to turn off the water that was beating down on her body. She knew if she were to gaze down at the tips of her toes or fingers, they would be wrinkled with little gullies and mountains of puckered skin. Her skin was numb from the soft yet continuous beating of the water upon it and she only wished that it would numb the foul feeling within her body. She wished that the soap she had would wash away the tainted coating that she felt had absorbed into her.

The water stopped pouring upon her and she grabbed her towel and began drying off, scrubbing her skin a bit harder than both necessary and intended. She hurriedly dressed in her uniform, leaving her jacket off, before going to Rebecca's locker, and retrieving the woman's hairdryer. She quickly dried her hair until it looked presentable and combed it before returning the hairdryer to the proper place and returning to stand in front of one of the many mirrors on the walls. She brushed her hair a bit more before twisting it up and clipping it in place with the brown clip that had become a staple for her.

She then returned her items back to her locker and shut it before grabbing her jacket and slipping it on. She buttoned and zipped it then adjusted the collar as she glanced back into the mirror. She checked that everything was in proper order, all the epaulettes were straight, the cord was in the proper position and that her collar was angled just right. It wouldn't do to have anything off or Roy might notice something astray. The last thing he needed was to worry about her. He had enough with the alchemy battle coming up.

Finally, she took a deep breath and left the locker room, glancing at the clock as she made her way out. She took a different route to the office, not looking for a chance to run into the fuehrer again. It wasn't the first time she'd talked with him but this time there was just something extremely different.

She finally made it to the hall that led to the office and sighed. She used all of her mental strength to push back the torrid emotions that were overflowing her brain and sucking most of her courage out of her like a thought engulfing vampire. To do this she used the main thought that always gave her strength: don't burden Roy. If she showed the slightest bit of unease, he would see right through her.

Riza walked into the office and saw that no one was present there except Roy, who was slipping on his jacket. He smiled at her as she walked closer.

"Where are the others?" she asked.

"Oh, they are hunting down Edward then going to the parade grounds. The certification is about to take place as soon as they find him."

"I see," she said, her voice displaying a bit of her dismay over the events that were about to occur.

Roy stared at her for a moment and noticed that her body had tensed up significantly. He walked past her and made his way over to the door, shut it, and locked it before making his way back over to stand in front of her. He touched her face gently with his ungloved hand and grinned. "Don't worry," he said. He grabbed her behind the head and started to pull her into a kiss when he felt the tips of her hair. He ran his fingers along it and then spoke. "Your hair is wet."

Riza nodded and pulled away. "Yeah, I took a shower today after I took the paperwork to the office. I felt dirty." She wasn't lying after all, she did feel downright filthy, she just didn't mention exactly why.

"You are tensed up too. You aren't honestly worried about this stupid certification are you?" he questioned. "Or about the pool. It's nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, I suppose," she said, not sounding convincing in the slightest. Yes, she was worried about all that and how it made Roy look, but she was also worried about many other things of course.

"Don't worry. You trust me don't you?"

She smiled softly at him, stared into his eyes, and nodded. "I trust you with everything, you know that."

"Then trust me that things will be fine here. Okay?"

She lifted her hand to straighten out his collar. As she did so, he leaned in to kiss her only to have her pull away. "Not in the office. Now let's go."

Roy sighed and grabbed one of his gloves from his desk. He started to walk by her when she grabbed his arm. He turned to look at her quizzically. She grabbed his other glove and slipped it on his left hand.

"I won't need that one," he said.

"You are being cocky," she said bluntly. "You always wear both anyway. This time should be no different. You are underestimating Edward," she said.

"Are you saying I could lose?"

"There's always a small chance," she said, "but I don't think you'll lose."

Roy grinned and put his glove on his right hand. "Then shall we go…Lieutenant?"

"Yes sir," she said.

They left the office and slowly made their way out of headquarters. Havoc greeted them at the door, tensing up when Riza directed her gaze at him. She looked away and they walked toward the parade grounds where all the men in headquarters were gathered.

"Did you find Fullmetal?" Roy asked.

"Yeah," Havoc said, "he was polishing his automail."

"It will take more than shiny automail to beat me."

Havoc glanced over at Riza who was frowning. He jumped slightly as she directed her gaze over to him once more. "Calm down Havoc, I'm not going to maim you," she said.

"That's good to know," he said, his voice shaking slightly.

"At least not on duty," she added, causing him to yelp and jump slightly. Roy chuckled lightly. Riza and Havoc were actually friends so he knew she was just teasing. In fact, Riza wouldn't really hurt anyone unless they tried to hurt him. He mistily wondered what she would do if Edward injured him? Not like a mere scratch but actually in a serious manner. He shrugged inwardly. It wouldn't be beneficial for him to find out so he would refrain from doing so.

They walked a bit longer in silence before Havoc spoke. "It's hard to believe the fuehrer is allowing this. It's really something. He's more relaxed than I pegged him as being."

Riza tensed up nervously upon hearing his words. Havoc had no idea what kind of man he was and how evil Bradley could truly be. "I think this entire battle assessment idea is ridiculous," she said, trying to take her mind off the previous events that occurred that day with the fuehrer.

"I wouldn't have suggested it. You can't say that I didn't want to protect the kid but I'll dutifully obey my orders until I become the fuehrer and every single one of them is obeying me."

"Be careful about what you say, Sir. The walls have ears and some might call those words treasonous," Riza said.

"She's right chief. Those are presumptuous words to say. Do you have a death wish or something?"

Roy stopped. Havoc and Riza looked at each other, and then back at him.

"That's a stupid question, Havoc. I say it because it is true. And when I'm fuehrer there will be changes." Mustang made a tight fist. "On that day!" he yelled as if he was victorious in a battle, "All female officers will be required to wear…TINY MINISKIRTS!" He made a pose as if he was some sort of corny mythical hero who was posing for a sculpture.

Riza's face dropped as Havoc cigarette fell from his mouth and he started hugging Mustang's leg, his face coming uncomfortably close to Mustang's crotch. It looked so wrong that she couldn't quite process the actions in her mind.

"You're a miracle, Mustang! I'll follow you for the rest of my life. I know all the other men will feel the same," Havoc said, tears streaming down his cheeks, displaying his joy over the possible future.

Yes, Roy Mustang did the impossible. He actually made her want to shoot him in said crotch, despite the inconvenience that it would also cause her. She knew Roy had a fascination with miniskirts, but surely, he didn't mean what he said. She stared at him a bit longer and realized that he would do exactly what he spoke, if he got the chance. She sighed again, folded her arms, and walked past the two men, muttering obscenities about men and perverted ways.

---

After the recovery of what Riza deemed, miniskirtitis, they made their way to the parade grounds. Roy nearly fell over when he saw Maes was standing in front of a huge covered item of some kind.

"What the hell is that?" Havoc questioned.

"Look who is standing in front of it. You know it could be anything. Of course, I have my guesses," Riza replied. She took her eyes off her husband's best friend and began looking around the parade grounds until her gaze rested on the fuehrer. He was sitting with his entourage under a canopy-like structure with the symbol of Amestris emblazoned upon it. Sitting to his left was his secretary and standing on his right was Basque Grand. The fuehrer himself was sitting there contently, holding a cup of tea, and waiting patiently for the event to start. That's all it was to him, an event. Just as Ishbal was a mere skirmish as far as he was concerned.

Edward Elric was standing in the middle of the parade ground, his brother standing beside him. If she had to describe the way Edward looked, her words would be, angrily constipated. He was chatting with his brother, the vein on his forehead popping slightly.

When Roy walked out onto the parade grounds, it was the first time she ever felt the need to beam Edward with a heavy object. With the way he looked at Roy, she knew he fully wanted to kick his ass into next year. Of course, that wouldn't happen, but that didn't mean she enjoyed seeing that look on anyone's face. She'd seen it enough from the men whose girlfriend's dumped them for a chance with Roy.

Riza turned her gaze back to Edward who was cracking the knuckles on his flesh hand and stretching slightly. The young man was unhealthily cocky and not nearly as experienced as he thought he was. It was clear to her who would eventually come out on top. Unless Edward had some sort of miracle alchemy, he would lose. Of course, as someone stated before, that didn't mean that he'd lose his certification. He would be graded on how he used his alchemy, not whether he won or lost. The young man was riled up and that meant that he would likely fight sloppily. Roy was perfectly calm and confident; he almost looked bored with the day's events. His cocky demeanor came anytime he was in front of large masses of people. He'd learned to put up that front so well that, if she didn't know him the way she did, she might have believed it.

She walked over to stand beside the gate to the grounds as Havoc walked into the crowd, finally moving to stand beside Breda who was at the front of the mass of soldiers. Fuery and Falman were standing there as well, waiting quietly.

She looked over at Maes Hughes who was, as previously observed, standing in front of a huge structure, which was covered in one of the large brown canvases used to cover the supply trucks. She knew that whatever he was concealing, her guess being rather outrageous but probably true to life, would be greeted with extreme annoyance.

He picked up a microphone and fixed its cord so that he wouldn't trip, before smiling widely and observing the crowd. He was holding that microphone as if he was preparing to belt out a hit song instead of introducing the alchemists about to fight. He reminded her of those people on that singing competition called Amestrian Idol that the theater had every week. If that competition were for comedians, she would be ushering him to compete. The man was a riot to most people when he wasn't being pestiferous. His hand made its way to grab hold of a rope attached to the canvas on the large item.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Maes boomed, his voice carrying over the parade grounds as if he was some experienced sports announcer. "Welcome to the Eastern Command Center Festival! A guaranteed break from that soldier grind!"

Riza raised an eyebrow. "The what?" she questioned, astonished at the name Maes created. Was she hallucinating or something? Was this entire situation one of those wacked out dreams she got when she ate Roy's homemade curry? She shook her head and continued to focus on Maes.

"Incidentally, take a look," Maes said, lifting the rope and pulling. The canvas fell off the item with a loud rustle revealing what the item was. "My daughter, who turned three this year! Isn't she absolutely adorable?"

"I was right," Riza said to herself. As she gazed at the extremely large picture of Elecia hugging a teddy bear. How he got something so big made in such a short amount of time was beyond her. Then again, she was referring to Maes Hughes. That man made the impossible, possible. She reasoned he definitely had to have serious connections to get that large mural made. She frowned, growing tired of how he was delaying the inevitable with his lunacy. She just wanted this battle to end and things to turn out slightly more realistically than how life currently was. She felt like she was stuck in some sort of dream world of an "herbal smoke partaker."

The crowd started throwing whatever they could get their hands on. Their yells reminded her of those angry mobs that went after the monster in the horror movies. She took out her gun and fired at the wooden platform that held the mural of Elecia upright, causing it to fall toward Maes. It didn't look heavy so he should make it out with only minor injuries. It was better for that to fall on him than for him to be beamed by one of the harder and more creative items that the audience chose to toss. Besides, Maes was too lucky to get hurt in such a small way. Idiots lived the longest.

Maes turned as the mural fell toward him. His eyes widened and he held up his hands. "Oh no, don't' fall on Daddy! Elecia!" his voice echoed into the microphone as the large mural fell upon him. The entire crowd started laughing and looked toward her cheering. She blushed lightly and looked away, her gaze drifting over to the fuehrer who gave her thumbs up for a job well done. For once, she would take the expression of praise from the fuehrer.

She looked over at Roy who was just staring at her. She could tell by the little quirk on the right side of his lip that he was greatly amused and would likely tease her about the incident for a long time to come.

A group of men lifted the canvas off Maes and carried it off the grounds. Maes sat up, rubbed a smudge of dirt off his face, stood, dusted off his uniform, and grabbed his microphone once again. He shot Riza a mean look, knowing she was the only one present with such a great shot, before turning toward Roy and Ed. Hopefully, he would get down to business and stop messing around with random silliness.

"That was a good one," Rebecca said, walking up to stand beside her friend. "I would say that's the best, most satisfying shot you've ever made."

"I did it so he wouldn't get injured by one of the objects coming from the audience," Riza said.

"So there was no personal revenge there at all?"

"I refuse to answer that on grounds that it will be used against me later," Riza replied, causing Rebecca to laugh. She sat down on the ground beside the standing Riza and poised herself to watch the fight.

"I thought you had to work at the range?"

"Jake told me to come here and watch then let him know who won. He has a lot of money on Mustang," Rebecca said.

"At least someone has common sense," Riza muttered.

"Did you say something?"

"No, just watch," Riza said.

"Fine, fine," Rebecca replied.

Maes pointed his finger into the air and his mouth opened widely as he began speaking. "And now without further distraction we move directly to the day's main event!"

"You mean the day's only event," Riza growled. The man was treating it like some sort of regional celebration. Rebecca chuckled at her annoyed friend. Riza moved to sit down beside Rebecca. Since everyone else was a bit laid back, it wouldn't hurt her to relax slightly.

"In the blue corner, the Flame Alchemist, and hero of the Eastern Rebellion. Colonel Roy Mustang! Give it up!" Maes said. He was introducing them in a similar manner that one would introduce boxers. It surprised Riza that he didn't give them nicknames as well. As soon as he spoke, different comments were being yelled by the men in the crowd, none of them positive.

"You just want a promotion!" One man said.

"Typical comment," Riza said.

"Go to hell Flamie!" another one shouted.

"That one too though Flamie is a new term for him," Riza said again.

"Give me back my girlfriend!"

"There's a cliché one he hears a lot," Riza commented, causing Rebecca to laugh.

"Give me back my boyfriend!" a man yelled causing Riza and Rebecca to look up in surprise. They weren't affected by any of the other statements but hearing that one really caught them off guard. Rebecca gazed over at Riza in shock.

"Did you hear that?" Rebecca asked questioned.

"Yeah… That one's not so typical. Well, it doesn't surprise me really. He could be attractive to the same sex I suppose."

Rebecca scooted closer to her friend. "Do you think…Do you think he dabbles in that? You know, do you think he's had a…" Rebecca trailed off.

"Had a what?" Riza asked, greatly annoyed.

"A butt buddy," Rebecca answered.

Riza nearly fell over at the comment. She raised an eyebrow and then turned to glare at Rebecca. "No he hasn't had one, does not currently have one, and never will have one," she said in a manner that would leave no room for doubt for anyone except Rebecca.

"Well, you act like I would be against him if he had one. I mean if he wants to swing that way far be it for me to criticize him. Besides, I bond with gay men, we both like dic-"

"Rebecca, Mustang isn't gay!" Riza snapped.

"Are you sure? I mean I do see tendencies."

"I am sur..." Riza trailed off and turned to her, "What in the hell do you mean tendencies?"

"I mean, he cares about his appearance an awful lot. Most men don't really give a crap. Most men aren't nearly as hygienic. Plus, he smacks his lips sometimes when he talks."

"That doesn't make him gay. You are stereotyping." Riza said. "And he doesn't smack his lips."

"Fine, so I'll take your word for it that he's not gay."

"Good, because he's not."

"Good," Rebecca said. "Because you'd be missing out if he was."

"Shut up Becca," Riza growled and turned her attention to Maes. The shouting from Mustang's introduction died down and Maes began introducing Edward.

"In the red corner the Fullmetal Alchemist and living legend of the people! Let's hear it for Edward Elric!"

"Where? I can't see him!" someone said.

"Is he in Elementary school?"

"He stole my boyfriend," a guy said.

"Good luck, bean sprout!"

A dark expression appeared on Edward's face and he started stomping toward the crowd when Al grabbed him. He kicked his legs and arms as if he was a child having a tantrum.

"Don't call me small! I'll tear off your feet and stick 'em on your head!" Ed yelled.

"And you say I need Valium?" Riza snapped at Rebecca.

"I said you needed it, not that you were the only one that needed it," she replied.

"Point taken," Riza said.

"Alchemists get set!" Maes yelled causing everyone to go quiet. He coughed then turned around. He took off running in the same manner he would if the last of his favorite cameras were being given away. "Ready and fight," he yelled, his voice full of fear and his feet still propelling him out of harm's way.

Edward turned toward Mustang just in time to see him raise his hand and snap. "Too slow!" The ground under Edward seemed to explode, causing him to fall on his back. He flipped over and looked up, his eyes widened.

"Right off the bat! Damn it!" Ed cursed. "That was a cheap shot!" he yelled, this time directing his comment to Mustang. He got up to run only to have Mustang snap and knock him off his feet again. He had to admit, Mustang's alchemy was amazing.

"A soldier favors haste over cleverness, means there aren't cheap shots, Edward," he says, raising his hand to snap yet again. Strike quickly and you'll end it quickly, too."

Edward ran across the field screaming as flames appeared out of mid-air, barely missing him. "Ahhhh! Just wait until I stop running, then I'll really kick your ass!" He ran toward some barricades as Mustang continued snapping. The barricades went flying into the air, along with some of the men as well. "You're not holding back at all are you!" Ed screamed.

"Hm… This is hard! He's such a small target!" Mustang shouted.

Ed stopped, turned toward him, and growled. "Who are you calling small!" he screamed in anger.

"If your opponent is of irascible temper, seek to irritate. An angry soldier fights blind. It means you should never let the enemy's taunts get to you. It makes you weak."

He raised his hand to snap, Edward literally turning a blue color as he did so. Roy snapped and the ground exploded before him, smoke encircling him, and engulfing the field. "Damn, maybe I overdid it a bit. I can't see anything in this smoke," he muttered. Roy looked around and spotted an outline of Edward. "Ah, there he is."

He ran closer to it and the smoke dissipated enough for him to see that it was a stone statue donning Edward's coat and the word, sucker, written on it. His eyes widened and he turned around just soon enough to see Edward with the blade extended on his automail arm. He slashed at Mustang's hand, ripping the fabric of his glove and cutting into the skin of his hand slightly. Edward flipped over and landed in a crouched position.

"Without that glove you can't make flames anymore, can you?" He clapped his hands together and hit the ground. His transmutation circle appeared under him along with a blue light surrounding his body. "That's advantage Elric," he said, cockily. A huge cannon rose under him and pointed directly at Roy.

---

"Wonder what I'm going to buy with my money," Rebecca said as she watched the fight, Mustang seemingly doomed.

"It's not over yet," Riza replied, confident that Roy would win.

---

Roy pulled his other hand from his pocket revealing another glove donning a transmutation circle. Ed's mouth dropped and his eyes widened. "My left glove is made of reactive cloth too. A soldier should keep deception in his arsenal. Meaning a surprise attack is a legitimate strategy, Fullmetal."

Roy snapped, causing the cannon to explode and Edward to fly into the air. Luckily, he landed in the deep fountain across from the grounds.

"Damn it to hell!" Rebecca cursed and stood up.

"I told you the Colonel would win," Riza said as she stood and dusted off her uniform. "You should have known better than to bet against him.

Rebecca glanced at her. "Did you know that he wore two gloves made of that cloth?"

"Yes, of course," Riza said.

"You going to be at the range tonight?"

"Aren't I always?"

"Yes, I guess you are," Rebecca replied. "The fuehrer's back is turned. Let's get out of here before he makes us help with the clean up."

"For once, I agree with shirking responsibilities," Riza said, "Let's go."

--

The fuehrer walked up to Mustang as Al and Havoc checked on Edward. He smiled widely, looked around the grounds, and then directed his gaze toward Mustang. "Well done. That was a brilliant fight Colonel Mustang," he said.

"Thank you sir, I am honored by your praise."

"Well then, make sure everyone helps you clean up," Bradley stated.

Roy saluted and watched as the fuehrer and his entourage walked away.

"I knew that was coming," Roy muttered.

* * *

**AN: As you see, I went with the ending of the battle that the manga used. It always annoyed me how the anime ended it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Encouragement is greatly needed at this point in my writing. **


	45. Agreement and the Puppy

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 45: Agreement and the Puppy **

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit whatsoever for this fanfiction. Any characters similar to a person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.**

**AN: Here's you all a new chapter. I am going to attempt to start updating this every or every other Sunday or Monday until school starts back in August. **

**Review Reply to 13th: In the manga the alchemy batter wasn't for certification and the battle was just an extra side story at the end of the Volume 3. Roy kicked Ed's ass in it. *smiles***

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**Agreement and the Puppy  
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Riza walked into headquarters and began her trek back toward the temporary office that the team was using until the fuehrer and his staff went back to Central City. She opened the door to the office and was surprised to find Maes Hughes sitting on the couch, his legs crossed and his posture slouched. It made her wonder how someone could be so relaxed all the time.

"Sir, what are you doing here?" she questioned, trying to hold back her annoyance at seeing him. She was really hoping to have the office to herself for a while to sort out some things, both work wise and mentally. It'd been a worrisome and draining day and she needed time alone.

"Just waiting on Roy. We are supposed to go for a drink tonight."

"Yes, he mentioned that," she replied, "But work doesn't end for a few hours and my guess is the fuehrer is making everyone clean up. I thought you were still there when I left." She closed the door and walked over to a table with numerous files on top of it. She began sorting through the folders trying to ignore the fact that he was staring at her.

"Nah, a good soldier needs to know when to retreat," Maes said, earning a little chuckle from Riza before she could hold it back.

Maes uncrossed his legs and put both feet on the floor before sitting up for a moment then leaning forward. "You laughed."

Riza tensed up slightly. "Yes, you see, when someone finds something amusing, there's this thing called laughter that comes from a human being. I am human so that means I have the ability to laugh." The sentence came out a bit more smart-ass like than she wanted.

"I didn't mean it like that," he said, adjusting the glasses on his face. "It was just a rare thing for you."

"Yes, well that's the way I took it."

The room grew quiet as Riza focused on her task at hand, once again trying to ignore the presence of the man sitting behind her, watching her.

"You aren't very fond of me are you?" Maes finally questioned. Riza had hoped for a moment that he'd left, even though she hadn't heard him do so.

"It's not that, Sir. Not at all. I wouldn't have accepted to be Elecia's godmother had I not liked you. I'm very fond of you, Sir." She paused then took a deep breath. "What I don't like is when you put Ro- the Colonel's career at risk. Like you all did today."

"That wasn't putting his career at risk in the slightest," Maes replied. "It was a bit of fun. Lieutenant Hawkeye, you really need to lig-"

"By the grace of whatever gods that may exist if you tell me to lighten up I will gladly accept a court martial and even execution just for the opportunity to kick your ass." She hit her hands down onto the table roughly, shocking the man sitting behind her.

Maes stared at the lower officer, noting how her entire body was tensed. She really did find reason to worry about the day's events. Her demeanor now was nothing like it was earlier in the day. He reasoned that something had to have happened between then and now that caused her tensity to increase significantly. It was so unlike the stern woman to threaten anyone, much less a commanding officer. There was definitely something seriously wrong with her to have her resort to threats.

"Lieutenant, I'm just worried for my best friend all right? I don't think he needs to be stressed out with work all the time. The seriousness you are displaying on him isn't making him feel better. He needs to relax."

"I think that if he keeps getting mixed up into ridiculous bets and other circumstances he's never going to get to his goals. Doesn't anyone give a damn about that?"

"Is that all you care about? His goals? Don't you give a damn about him?"

Riza's heart ached upon hearing the words the man spoke. She stopped working and stared down at the table. "Ho…How could you ask me that? Do you know what it is I do, Sir?"

"You are his chief aide."

"So you don't know my full job? He's never told you?"

"Full job?"

"I'm his bodyguard as well, Sir. I would take a bullet for him any place, at anytime," she spoke in a low tone, just loud enough for Maes to make out her voice. He could detect a tinge of pain in her pitch and guilt for what he spoke ran through his body. "Follow me and if I stray from the path, shoot me in the back. That's the basic gist of what he said when I first came under his command."

Maes could barely believe Roy would tell her that and was shocked that the young woman before him was carrying such a responsibility on her shoulders. "I didn't know that. Roy never said anything to me about it," he said.

Riza nodded and began working once more. "Before you speak, make sure you know all you can about the person you are talking about. You might be surprised."

"Duly noted but I have a question. Can you say that you are honestly willing to do that? You have the strength to shoot him in the back if he does go off the proper path?"

"I hope I do," she said, "because if he ever does stray we both know that it won't be because he's still himself. Our Mustang will be gone. If I can't bring back our Mustang, then I will pull the trigger."

"And then what would you do?"

"I'll pull it on myself," she stated, her voice filled with such resolve that she would indeed do such a thing.

"Roy wouldn't be happy to hear that."

"He doesn't have to know and I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell him. I don't want to have to deal with his reaction to that," she said.

Maes stood and walked over to lean against the table she was facing. "I won't tell," he said, "But the question is, what are we going to do? We clearly differ in what we all think is best for Roy."

"Well, us arguing certainly doesn't help him any."

Maes heaved a large sigh. "Riza," he began, using her first name, an indication that he wanted no rank involved in the rest of the discussion. "I've known him a long time, not as long as you of course, but I've seen him at his rock bottom. You were still in academy at the time. Riza, he was looking up human transmutation."

He was surprised when he saw no look of shock appear on her features. She stared into his eyes and then spoke. "He told me about that. In fact, he told me about that entire conversation you had."

Maes couldn't help but be a bit bitter that she knew about the incident when Roy hadn't told him anything about the entire, shoot me in the back, deal he made with Riza. "My point is that you are putting so much stress on him that it isn't good for his health. The thing today was a chance for him to let off some steam. If I thought for a moment he would get into trouble, I would have had it nipped in the bud the first chance I got. The fuehrer had no problem with it and Roy isn't in any trouble whatsoever."

"I know that. The fuehrer himself told me he had no problem with it," she revealed then cursed herself. She couldn't believe that she'd let the fact she had a run in with the fuehrer slip. She hoped Maes wouldn't leap on the fact she had talked with the man, but her hopes were dashed when he did just that. For some reason, he and Roy had never been keen on her being near the fuehrer. After feeling the way she did when he addressed her, she understood why.

"You talked to the fuehrer? Usually, he doesn't speak to anyone lower than a Major without it being absolutely necessary."

Riza tensed up and quickly began organizing all of the folders in front of her into a stack. "Yes," she finally answered, "I talked to him, or rather, he spoke to me." She picked up the stack of files and held them to her chest. As she remembered the tone the fuehrer used and the look in his eyes, she couldn't help but shutter slightly.

Maes instantly noticed, stood straight, and placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it slightly. "What did he say to you?"

She jerked away from him and took a step back, "It wasn't anything important." She turned around and started toward the door only to find herself stopped by two hands on her shoulders. He swung her around to face him, a concern look plastered on his features.

"Riza, there's something wrong. I can tell by the way you act that something happened that shook you. I don't know you well but you are normally more composed. Even right now, I can feel you trembling under my hands. You don't have to tell me, but you should tell Roy. I've never seen you this uneasy before."

Riza pulled away from him. "Wasn't it you who said that I stress him out? Just leave it alone. It will be better for all concerned."

"He should know this. He'd be upset if he found out from someone else. Riza, tell Roy."

"If something dangerous was happening to you, not that anything dangerous is happening to me mind you, would you tell him? Would you call him up and say you were in danger and needed his help?"

Maes stared into her hazel gaze, something he was always so fond of about Hawkeye, and finally he shook his head and removed his hands from her shoulders. He stuck them in his pockets and shook his head again. "No, I don't think I would."

"See?"

"But you are much different than me," he said. "Your situation is different."

"How am I different? I'm his subordinate and friend, just like you."

"Come on, get off it Riza," Maes said, leaning back against the table behind him and staring at her knowingly. "Every single one of us knows that you are the most important person he has under him. If something happened to you, it would completely shatter his resolve. He would be so grim that none of us could pull him out of his pit. He'd be dead in a matter of days no matter what any of us did. Anyone else dying, he might hurt, he might be delayed slightly, but he would move on and continue. Our deaths would be a small obstacle for him. Your death would be a spear through his heart."

"Perhaps…" she trailed off.

"Perhaps what?"

"Perhaps I should transfer then. Would that make things easier on everyone? You are complaining about me stress him out first, then you tell me this. I have to admit, your words tempt me."

"You transferring wouldn't help a thing. Roy would go after you. Besides, it's not like you mean it."

"Yes actually, I do mean it. If my death would stall him that much, maybe a transfer would be for the best." She found herself shocked at the words that she'd spoken but it wasn't as if it didn't cross her mind before this conversation occurred. Maybe if she weren't around he wouldn't worry about her and get to the top quicker. Maybe he wouldn't be so damned distracted with keeping their secret.

"You are twisting my sentences to fit your own delusions. You know he needs you too much for you to leave, and you know as well as I that you couldn't leave him."

She nodded, "You are right. I don't think I could leave. At least, not for a long period of time that is."

Maes smiled at her and nodded. "So we've determined that you aren't going anywhere right?"

"You are right," she acknowledged, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Besides, if you tried I would be forced to get Rebecca and Havoc, stalk you, tie you up, and bring you back, risking life and limb to do so."

Riza laughed lightly and nodded. "Then when I got free I would once again risk court martial to kick your ass."

"I'm part of court martial investigations remember? I'd throw the case out."

Riza nodded and her face smoothed into a serious look. "I need you to keep what happened with the fuehrer from Roy. Please Sir, don't tell him anything about it or about what we talked about here today. For his own good."

"I won't," he said, not needing to think about things at all. He understood completely why she didn't want to speak about the incident. "You can trust me but please if it gets too dangerous, if the fuehrer does or says anything that is a threat, tell Roy. We will find a way to arrange an optimum condition so you can avoid him if it comes to that."

"I'll tell him if I get into a situation like that." She walked over to the door and opened it.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye," he called, back to formalities and titles. She turned around to look at him. "You can really trust me. I swear my life on that."

She stared at him for a full minute before nodding and leaving the room. How she longed to be able to develop a trust in Maes. Perhaps, if he kept that secret, it would be a start.

Maes walked back over to sit on the couch, resting back on the black sofa cushions. He folded his arms and crossed his legs. It would be difficult not to reveal what happened but he would do so. He didn't want to betray an already fragile trust he thought he gained with her. He was sure if things got too out of hand, Roy would sense it and confront her. If they were still as close as they were in Ishbal, if they were still risking a relationship, it left little doubt that Roy knew her mannerisms better than the array on his gloves.

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Roy sighed in pleasure as the hot water emerging from the showerhead cascaded down his body. It'd been an extremely long day and, sadly, it wasn't quite over yet. The cleanup of the parade grounds was quickly completed thanks to all the hands and the alchemy skills present in some of the crew. He knew that they'd be the ones to end up cleaning it up and that was the reason he honestly didn't want the thing to take place. Of course, he had to follow the fuehrer's orders so he fought.

He frowned when Riza came to his mind. She'd been really stressed out for the past few months and knew this little battle did little to ease her already turbulent body and mind. He himself wasn't exactly the poster child of mental stability at the moment but he was more relaxed than people thought. Everyone thought he was overly stressed when in reality he was just extremely annoyed at Fullmetal and surrounding events. This stupid battle caused him to worry for Riza. He hoped she would vent to Rebecca soon, otherwise he thought she might have a nervous breakdown.

Though it was clearly not fair that she was able to tell her best friend while he had to keep it from Maes, he felt no bitterness for allowing her to do so. He wouldn't deny that he did at first, but it had faded completely out of him. She never had that many people in her life, never shared that many secrets, so he would accept her sharing this large one with her best friend.

He stepped out of the shower and dried off, looking forward to going home, getting in his nice warm bed, cuddling up to his gorgeous wife, and going to sleep. As he dressed, he groaned when he remembered he had a few pieces of paperwork that needed to be finished before he could leave. He walked out of the locker room after putting everything back in his locker, and headed back to the office.

On the way, he spotted Maes walking toward him. He frowned and narrowed his eyes as the man stopped in front of him. "Why didn't you help clean up?" Roy asked, getting straight to the point.

"I needed to have a talk with someone," Maes answered, "It was really important that I do so." Of course, that person was Riza though he used the excuse about them going for drinks that evening as a reason for being there.

"I see. It couldn't have waited?"

Maes lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck and plastered his amusing grin onto his lips, "I needed to be alone with that person, and it was the best chance. I promise I'll help next time you have to clean up a parade ground."

"There had better not be a next time," Roy grumbled and walked past him.

"See you at the bar after work. The Raven, on West Street," Maes said.

"Got it," Roy replied, then groaned as he was reminded that he couldn't go home right after work. It looked like his nice warm bed, his gorgeous wife, and his sleep were going to have to wait for a few hours.

Honestly though, spending time with his best friend would be a welcome change in routine. He greatly missed Maes when he wasn't around. He actually missed the pictures and the exclamation of joy when Elecia did something new. Thankfully, Maes felt the need to call him every evening with the news, a good relief from missing him. He would never let Maes know that he enjoyed certain aspects about those phone calls. However, he hated the parts where Maes nagged him to get a wife, or receiving useless calls when he was swamped with so much paperwork that his desk looked like a paper mill. Still, he wouldn't trade the time spent with his friend for anything in the world. Riza, his mother and "sisters", and Maes were the most important people in his life. He wasn't sure what he'd do if he lost them.

Roy opened the door to his office and entered, closing it behind him. He glanced around the room to see that all of the men, except Fuery, were sitting at their desks. He stared over at the youngest officer who was standing at the window, looking out with a sad expression on his face as he watched the rain begin to fall once again. He looked down in Fuery's arms to see that he was holding the little puppy, it too looking extremely depressed. Roy walked up to him and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Why the depressed look?"

"Well, the Lieutenant told me that if I didn't find the puppy a new owner that I have to put it back where it was," Fuery said, reminding Roy of a child instead of a military officer. He stroked the puppy under the chin and smiled slightly as the animal closed its eyes and made a noise of pleasure.

"I see."

"I didn't know the Lieutenant could be so cold. How can I put it back in the rain like that?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry." He knew that Riza would find a solution to the puppy issue. There was no way she would be that cruel to any animal. "Lieutenant Hawkeye may seem tough, but underneath all that she has the gentlest heart you'll ever come across."

"I hope you are right, Sir," he replied as the door to the office opened then closed.

"Did you find an owner for the puppy yet, Master Sergeant?" a flat feminine voice questioned. Fuery turned paled, his mouth widened, and his teeth clinched in fear upon hearing her voice. Sweat started accumulating on his face and he squeezed the puppy in his arms a bit tighter than he should have.

Slowly turning around, he tried to calm down his beating heart and steady his voice, failing miserably.

"Um… well…I…tried… that is… I…" he stuttered.

Riza's face faltered. "You didn't find anyone did you?"

Fuery closed his eyes and tilted his face toward the ground, a frown appearing in his lips. The puppy scooted closer to him, not wanting to go back out into the rain. The small animal whimpered slightly as it looked at her with those big brown eyes, her own gaze meeting its.

"Well, I guess if no one else wants to be the owner," she took the puppy from Fuery's grasp, "I have no choice."

Fuery looked at her oddly for a moment then spoke. "Ma'am?"

She smiled at the young man. "I'll take it." She lifted it to rest against her chest and held it tightly; the puppy barked and nuzzled her under her chin. "But I hope you know that I'm very strict."

Tears streamed down Fuery's cheeks over the happy occasion. He was so thrilled that the puppy had a new owner. Roy smiled as well and laughed. "You see Fuery? I told you she had a good heart."

Riza went over to her desk and sat the pup down on the floor beside her. She knelt and petted it gently. It then began barking and running around her, thrilled to have a "mommy". Roy watched as she enjoyed playing with the little animal and made a note to get her a present for the puppy on his way home after his get together with Maes.

"I'm glad he finally found an owner," Fuery said.

Havoc walked up to stand next to the younger man as they watched Hawkeye interact with the animal. "I'm sure the Lieutenant's gonna discipline the dog but give it a lot of love as well," Havoc said. "The pup certainly seems to love her a lot."

The puppy barked and began running along the wall. When it got directly under a window, he raised his leg and a stream of urine hit the wall, then pooled in the floor.

The men in the room started to laugh. "Well, I guess he isn't housebroken yet," Fuery said. Everyone suddenly turned toward Riza when they heard the sound of a gun hammer being pulled back, a sound they all knew very well. Riza then fired five shots toward the puppy, causing the plaster on the wall to chip and its dust to fill the air, concealing the canine from sight.

When the smoke cleared, the dog was backed up against the wall, bullet holes surrounding his trembling form and urine pooled at his feet.

"You have a strict mommy now pup, the bathroom is outside," Riza said.

All the men in the room suddenly turned pale and took a step back. Sweat drifted down their faces in streams and they all looked to make sure that they too weren't standing in their own personal puddles of urine. That day, they all made a mental note never to challenge Riza Hawkeye.

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**AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review if you did and tell me your favorite parts. Also if you want to ask a question and don't have an account, please leave a email or something where I can contact you to answer. I can't answer questions if I don't have that. **


	46. Time With Maes

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 46: Time with Maes**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit whatsoever for this fanfiction. Any characters similar to a person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. If I did own it or any rights I'd turn this into a manga ^_^.**

**AN: Decided that since I finished this chapter earlier than Sunday I would post now. Hope you like it! **

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**Time with Maes**

As the men stared at the blond lieutenant, fear cascaded through their bodies like electrical current, hitting along their skin giving it a prickly feeling. It was hard to believe she would actually shoot at a puppy for such a thing, and they were all very grateful that she wasn't the one that gave them their basic training.

"Um… I should go and see if there's some…stuff… that needs to be done," Havoc said, turning quickly and rushing out of the office before anyone could say anything to him.

"I think I'll help Havoc," Falman said calmly, took terrified to raise his voice, "Come on Fuery." He grabbed the young man by the collar and quickly left the office to help Havoc with his nonexistent task.

Breda stood there a few seconds after his friends left before slowly turning and heading toward the door, his footsteps thumping heavily on the wooden floors, though he wasn't stomping in the slightest.

"Where are you going?" Roy questioned, turning his head toward the second lieutenant.

The man stopped in the doorway and turned to look at his commanding officer. "To wipe," Breda then turned around and left the office, shutting the door behind him.

Roy turned his gaze back to Riza. "Don't you think that was a bit of overkill?" He watched as she holstered her gun and picked up the poor puppy that, surprisingly, cuddled up to her just as friendlily as it had before her unorthodox potty training.

Riza turned to face him, "You really think so?"

Roy walked closer to her and scratched the puppy between the ears, "Yeah, I definitely think it was overkill."

"Maybe I really do need some Valium," she joked. She lifted the puppy up to her eye level and looked into its eyes. "What do you think pup? Do I need some Valium?" The puppy barked in reply and she brought it back to rest against her once more.

Roy smiled at Riza's interaction with the puppy then leaned in to kiss her forehead, his lips barely drifting on her skin for a few seconds before he pulled away. "No, I don't think that you do."

"Good to know," she said.

Roy brought his gaze away from hers and down to the puppy. "What are you going to name him?"

"I haven't thought about it yet. I mean, I just got him," she said. He directed his gaze back to hers and chuckled. "Are you alright with me keeping this puppy?"

"Sure I am. I love dogs."

"Yes, about that incident. Why were you so manic today? You scared everyone in the office with your manic yell."

"Not as much as your potty training."

"Well it was effective. Perhaps next time you go crazy like you did with this poor pup, I'll train you the same way."

"And face court martial? I was just over excited, that's all."

"Like you'd report me for that," Riza replied, with a laugh.

"Yeah, you are right," he said, laughing with her. He adjusted the collar of his jacket and sighed, "I need to finish up the rest of my paperwork, and then I'm going out with Maes for a drink."

"No need, you can put the rest of it off until morning," she said.

Shock engulfed Roy's body and he rested a hand on Riza's forehead. "Do you have a fever?"

Riza wrinkled her nose and grabbed his wrist, removing his hand from her forehead. "Go on and get out of here Roy. Just don't get plastered and pick up any strange women," she teased.

"Never ever would I do that," he said, a grin playing on his lips, indicating that Riza should expect something amusing tacked on to that statement. "I always pick up women I know."

"Funny," she said, her sarcasm made evident. "Well I'm going shooting with Rebecca tonight so I won't be home until after eight anyway."

"Don't shoot anyone by accident."

"Accident? Okay I promise I won't shoot anyone by accident," she plastered a mischievous smirk on her face that mirrored his.

"No shooting anyone intentionally either," he said.

"Never ever would I do that," Riza mimicked his previous words. She started to say more but she was cut off when he kissed her quickly.

"I'll be going now," he said, petting the puppy one last time and then heading to the door. She gazed at his gait, remembering how attractive he looked in those expensive suits when they were pretending to be the Wayne's. That thought led to something she wanted to know regarding that mission and the meeting Roy had with her grandfather.

"Wait Roy," she said, walking over to him as he turned to face her.

"Did grandfather tell you anything about the Wayne's or how Peak knew who we were?"

Roy looked surprised for a moment, and then his face went back to its normal manner. He shook his head. "No, he didn't."

"But wasn't that what the meeting was originally for?"

"Yes, but a bunch of things got very distracting there concerning the current circumstances. So much so that I didn't get a chance to talk with him very much. He didn't know that the fuehrer was coming here either. It really was a surprise to everyone in headquarters."

"I figure my grandfather would have warned us if he knew."

"Most likely," he said, "I'll ask Maes about it tonight to see if he's heard anything."

"Thanks," she said, and watched as he left the office. Riza looked down at the puppy in her arms as it looked up at her. "So, it's time to get you used to the range. You'll be coming there with me a lot." She walked over to the desk to grab her purse before turning off the lights and heading for the range to wait on Rebecca.

--

Roy knocked on the door to Maes's temporary office and then opened it. Maes was working on a few papers on his desk but looked up when he heard Roy enter.

"Hey, buddy!" Maes said while stacking the papers he was working on in a neat pile.

Roy shut the door behind him and sat down in a chair across from him. "You ready to go?"

Maes looked over at the clock on the wall before turning his gaze back to Roy. "Work is not over yet."

"Hawkeye let me go, she said I could finish up whatever paperwork I had left tomorrow. It was only a few sheets." Maes started to say something before Roy interrupted, knowing what was going to leave his mouth. "No she's not sick."

"Just checking," he said.

Roy leaned back and sighed. "Could you go easy on her Maes?"

"Pardon? What do you mean?"

"You all think she's the source for my stress but in reality I am not stressed that much nor is she the reason for it."

Maes stared at him for a full minute taking in his friend's serious expression. It was serious but he could see the small crease in the skin between his eyes when he was concerned.

"Don't you think she puts a bit too much pressure on you?"

"No, I don't. Not really. You guys don't see the Hawkeye that I see. She's not the slave driver that her reputation depicts her as. She's actually a nice, kind person."

Maes laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I know. I had a short discussion with her and we came to an agreement."

"Discussion? Agreement? About what?"

"I'm not going to tell you."

"Maes!"

"I promised," he said. "I won't break a promise and an already fragile trust I've gained from her. I'm on the brink of getting past that wall and I won't hurt her."

Roy smiled and nodded, "I understand. I'm glad to hear that."

Maes stood and threw his pencil down on the desk. "What do you say we skip out since there's only 15 minutes of work left, and hit the bar early. You need to seriously be updated on a few things."

"I don't like the way that sounds."

Maes's face grew serious as he adjusted his glasses on his face, the light reflecting off them slightly. He slipped on his jacket and walked near Roy, who was now on his feet. "Most of it isn't good news."

"Yeah, I wasn't exactly expecting rainbows, butterflies, and kittens," Roy said, as they left the office then headquarters.

"Speaking of animals, what did Fuery ever do with that puppy?"

"Hawkeye took it," Roy answered, causing Maes to laugh.

"Hawkeye with a dog?"

"She likes dogs," Roy said.

"I hope she isn't as manic with them as you are."

"Hey, I can't help it if I get excited over the canine species. They are wonderful animals. Great servants of man!"

"You know when you get like that you sound like Armstrong right?"

Roy stopped walking and Maes walked a few feet before he realized Roy wasn't beside him. He turned around to see Roy standing still a devastated look on his face.

"What's the matter buddy?"

"Do I really sound like him when doing that?"

Maes nodded. "Yeah, sad to say you do."

"I will never do it again," Roy said.

--

When Maes and Roy went inside the bar and ordered their drinks, Maes instantly struck up the conversation, getting straight to business. It was very unlike him to act in such a manner so it caught Roy a bit off guard. Usually they spent several minutes arguing about Roy's marital status and playboy ways.

"Are you aware that troops have been dispatched to Lior?" Maes took a drink of his liquor before placing it down on the coaster in front of him.

"No, I haven't heard anything about it. I haven't had time to be briefed on much of anything at all considering the recent events here. General Grumman hasn't been able to keep me up to date because his office has been so busy trying to compensate for all the extra soldiers."

"I hear it is turning into a pretty horrible civil war. Ed said that the prophet there was removed when the people found out he was a fraud."

"Yeah, I knew about the prophet being a sham. Ed's report made that clear," Roy replied. "Not to mention I got a debriefing from him. He told me that you gave him a tip to go there when you heard about a red stone."

"I'll admit to that much but I didn't tell him to unseat the prophet there. He did that on his own. I didn't know he'd cause that much trouble."

"Now you know to be careful when you give him tips," Roy said, a light laugh making its way into his tone.

"Yeah, I've learned that much," Maes said, also amused. His tone then turned back to its previous seriousness.

"Just be sure to remember it. Remind yourself with any notes you can write," Roy joked. Maes didn't react to it and continued with informing Roy of the circumstances.

"Ed said that the people would open their eyes since the fake was gone but there's still a priest there going strong and he's calling his followers to an uprising. I can't say if it's the same guy Edward fought. What I do know is that the man has no regard for his people and is letting them fight, urging them on, while he stays safe in the temple. It's amazing how people can be so blind. How they can merely follow someone unwaveringly just because he has on religious garb and speaks the texts to them."

"I'm surprised you can't understand that."

"And you do?" Maes questioned.

"Yes. Religion blinds everyone that takes part in it. It dulls their common sense most of the time. It's a weakness," Roy said, picking up his drink and looking down at the slowly melting ice immersed in the amber liquid.

Maes turned his head to the left toward Roy. "What do you mean by that?"

"Think about it, what have most of the wars been about? Differences in people yes, but also religion. One religion always makes itself out to be superior to the other and in turn, that insults other religions. If a religion doesn't understand something, they make it out to be evil. Spawn of the devil in other words."

"Not everyone is like that," Maes stated, interested in what his friend was thinking about religion. He knew Roy's belief system, or lack thereof, but hearing what he thought of religions was rather fascinating.

"They aren't? Take the kindest person of any religion and ask him or her what they think of another. You'll get the standard, 'it's up to the person but I think they are wrong,' line. Oh, let's not forget the other standard line: 'they will come to the knowledge of the truth'. What if their truth is wrong? You'd never get them to admit that it possibly could be such."

"Don't you think though it's better to believe in something than nothing?"

Roy chuckled. "Do you believe in an omniscient immortal being Maes? Do you honestly believe that there's someone that guides the world? That created all of us?"

"I have an open mind to it, yes. I didn't before my daughter was born but now I have to believe that things like chemicals, atoms, molecules aren't the only things that take place in creating us."

Roy chuckled. "You are either horribly wrong, or incredibly right Maes," he said, "I have no way of knowing and am in no place to judge. I just know what I believe."

Maes took a drink from his glass and sighed. "Let's get back to the proper topic. Do you think maybe you should send Ed in to investigate?"

"No, that's the first success he's really had and he thinks he's saved that city. I'll let him think that a bit longer. He'll come to learn the truth soon enough."

"Yeah, I suppose you are right."

"Moving on, what do you know about the mission we went on concerning the Wayne's? Somehow, Peak found out we were military. I don't know if it was just carelessness on our part or if we were betrayed by someone in the military."

"The fuehrer ordered Peak executed as soon as we got through with him. They got the list of locations of the children from his office. Most have been brainwashed and some families went as far as killing the children when we came to take them back to their real parents."

"And the Wayne's? What happened to them?"

"They were executed along with Peak."

Roy sat his drink down roughly, the ice inside clicking violently against the glass and the liquid spilling onto the oak bar. He put all of his focus on his glass of liquor, gripping it tightly with his hand. "They were promised to be pardoned." Roy didn't like that he was part of something that didn't fulfill its promise.

Maes stared at him for a moment before looking back down at his glass. "They were pardoned of their other crimes, but they did something else that got them executed."

"What was that?" Roy asked, surprised at Maes's comment.

"They were the ones to betray you to Peak, Roy. They were convicted as accessories to murder and attempted murder. They were also convicted of abetting kidnapping and perjury."

Roy's eyes widened. "So everything they did..." Roy trailed off.

"Was a set up," Maes finished Roy's sentence. "According to what we got out of them before they were shot, it was a way to earn Peak's trust."

"I see," he said. "Well, at least we got most of the kids back. Hakuro got his children back yes?"

"Yes, they were terrified, which is understandable, but they are just fine."

"Good, as much as I hate him, I didn't want his children hurt."

"Yeah, I can't imagine the horror they were going through with that. I don't even want to try to imagine it. The incident with Nina was enough."

Roy nodded and finished the rest of his drink.

"Now that I've gotten that information, are you going to tell me why you all are here? I find it hard to believe you are here just for observation reasons."

"That's true. There's an alchemist killer Roy, and from what we gather, he is the same person that killed Tucker and Nina. He's already killed five alchemists in Central. The big wigs kept pressuring the fuehrer until he came out here."

"Don't they have enough sense to realize that if a killer wants something bad enough, if they are obsessed enough, they will follow," Roy said, exasperated. He then sighed. "Don't answer that, I forgot for a moment how the higher ups are. They don't use common sense. They just want to save their asses. If they can't do that then they build a wall with false senses of security."

"You know them too well," Maes said with a laugh, standing up and reaching into his pocket to get some money to pay for the drinks. Roy stood quickly and handed the bartender the money before Maes could retrieve his wallet.

"Are you ever going to let me pay?" Maes questioned.

"Probably not." Roy slipped on his coat and smiled at his best friend. "Thanks for the information."

"Don't mention it. Be careful on your way home," Maes replied while donning his coat.

Roy lifted his hand as he walked out of the door, "You too."

Maes grinned mischievously and rushed after him. "Hey Roy! I forgot to tell you something!"

Roy stopped and turned around. "What is it?" he yelled, already a good distance away from Maes.

"Get yourself a wife!" Maes yelled then laughed loudly.

Roy glared. "Go to hell!" He turned and made his way home, quite amused at his friend but would never show it. Someday he would reply with the fact he already had one. That day would be great indeed and he couldn't wait until he saw the look on Maes's face when he revealed it.

He stopped and grinned. There was a shocked look he would be able to see soon and it would be equally, if not more, satisfying than a look on Maes's face. He could see the look on Rebecca's face when Riza told her. The woman never was fond of him and for the longest time had tried to get Riza to transfer to the sniper unit.

He removed his hands from his pockets and glanced down at his watch, grinning as he saw that it was only 7pm. Riza and Rebecca were supposed to meet at 7:30, this would be the perfect chance to eavesdrop and take a peek at the harpy's reaction. Of course, once Riza started talking more, he would leave. There was a limit to how much he would listen in.

He stuck his hand back in his pockets and made his way to the range, humming lightly.

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**AN: Hope you liked it! Tell me what you think! New chapter Sunday June 28****th**** (maybe sooner depending on the status of my other writings and life in general) so please drop a review. **


	47. What Isn’t Right

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 47: What Isn't Right **

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit whatsoever for this fanfiction. Any characters similar to a person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. **

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**What Isn't Right**

Roy made his way inside the range and began walking to the place where Riza and Rebecca usually practiced their shooting. There was a small, concealed balcony over the area that was a perfect place to hear and see Rebecca's reaction to the secret. Then after he saw the expression, he could easily leave the place without being detected.

He made his way up to the top and waited for them to enter the shooting area. He sat in a chair that was out of view and crossed his legs, listening closely for the sound of footsteps approaching.

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Riza sat on one of the tables in the preparation room waiting for Rebecca to show up. Her left leg was propped up so that her knee was in the air, and she had one arm resting upon it. She was scratching the puppy between the ears with her other hand, the canine looking incredibly pleased with her actions.

While her posture was rather relaxed, her mind was another story. It was raging with conflicting thoughts, just as it had the entire day. During her walk in the rain the previous morning, she'd decided not to tell Rebecca. Then her decision was going back and forth all day from wanting to tell her, needing to tell her, feeling guilty for wanting to, then deciding not to tell her, and then back to being conflicted on what she should do.

Roy seemed all right with her telling him, as always he was bending to something she wanted. She felt horrible for always being the one that got her way. Roy always made every sacrifice in their relationship. If she actually went through with telling Rebecca about them, she was horribly fearful that it would put a barrier between them. It wasn't right no matter how one looked at it. If Roy couldn't tell Maes, then she shouldn't be able to tell Rebecca, and she just wasn't comfortable sharing such a dangerous secret with Maes yet.

"Is that the dog Fuery was trying to give away?" Rebecca questioned, walking toward her friend. When she didn't get a response she waved her hand in front of Riza's face and snapped, bringing her out of her deep thoughts.

Riza shook her head as if it would clear it and turned to look at her friend. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"Are you alright? It's not like you to be so unguarded," Rebecca said, looking worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something," she said, jumping off the table then putting her puppy in the floor as well. "Did you ask me something?"

"Yeah, I asked if that was the puppy Fuery was trying to give away? I heard about him asking almost everyone in headquarters if they wanted it."

"Yeah, one in the same," she said. "I couldn't resist it to be honest. It surprised me that no one else swiped up the cute little thing."

Rebecca kneeled, "You don't strike me the type to like dogs," she said, as she petted him on the head. "Though I'm sure you'll be a great owner. The pup is lucky to get one, but I didn't know you wanted a dog."

"The opportunity never came up. Besides, that puppy is one of the most intelligent animals I've ever seen. He's even potty trained already," Riza said, walking over to her locker, the puppy following on her heel as she did so. She removed one of the rifles and closed the metal door. When she turned around, she nearly tripped over her new pet. "Be careful pup, you don't want to cause me to fall and yourself to be squashed."

Much to Riza and Rebecca's surprise and amusement. It slowly moved to Riza's right side and sat beside her feet, waiting for her to move. Riza took a step and the puppy did the same before once again, sitting down beside her.

Rebecca walked over to her own locker to retrieve her rifle and they made their way to the shooting area of the range, the pup never losing pace with Riza despite his small legs. They walked over to the stall and Rebecca leaned against the wall with her rifle as she watched Riza load her gun.

Riza looked down at the puppy. "Good pup," she said earning a bark in reply.

As soon as he'd heard footsteps, Roy had turned and was now watching the two women and puppy as they interacted at the shooting stall. He was amused at how attached the puppy was to Riza despite her violence toward it earlier.

Riza lifted the gun and aimed at the target several meters away. When she fired several shots, the cracks echoing throughout the range like a bunch of firecrackers being set off, the puppy whimpered and took off running. It hid behind a large barrel and rested its head between its paws. Riza turned as soon as she heard its cry and saw that it was nowhere to be seen.

"What the hell?"

"The shot scared it," Rebecca said, "It's behind the barrel."

"I see," Riza said, and clicked the safety on the rifle. "Well it will have to learn to get used to gunshots if it wants to be my dog. She handed the rifle she was holding to Rebecca. "Hold this a minute would you?"

"Sure," she said, taking the rifle and watching as Riza walked over to where the puppy was hiding.

Riza got down on her knees and peaked into the small area, seeing the puppy shuddering and whimpering. "Come on pup, you will be okay," she said, gently reaching her hand back into the area. It looked at her then at her hand. "Come on, that shot wasn't aimed at you. I promise I'll never shoot at you again," she said.

"Again?" Rebecca questioned. "What do you mean again? You shot at that pup?" She stared at Riza strangely, trying to figure out what she meant by again.

Riza didn't bother turning her gaze to Rebecca or answering her questioned. "Come on pup," Riza said again.

The puppy slowly stepped from its hiding place, a bit wary of its surroundings. Riza scratched it between the ears. When it got within arm's reach, it suddenly pounced on her, causing her to lose her balance at the unexpected action and to fall on her butt. She laughed and picked it up before standing and going over to the stall. She sat it down on one of the tables against the wall.

"What did you mean by shoot at it again," Rebecca asked, still not giving up on inquiring about what she heard Riza say.

"It needed potty training," Riza replied. She took her gun back from a confused Rebecca.

"Potty train? What the…" Rebecca trailed off.

While Rebecca tried to organize her next sentence, Riza turned toward the animal. "See here pup. This is a gun. They are very dangerous and can hurt you."

Rebecca looked at her friend oddly, forgetting about the potty training statement as she watched her friend talk to the animal like it was a human being getting a shooting lesson.

"Now, if I am holding one and firing, I'm not going to harm you. I might get shot at several times but you are never to get in the way. If you see someone you don't know with a gun, stay close to me. Do you understand?"

"Um…okay Riza…are you feeling okay? I don't think a dog is going to-" she was interrupted when the dog barked three times at Riza. Her mouth dropped open with surprise as Riza looked over her shoulder at her.

"Dogs are much smarter than you think they are, and understand more than we humans give them credit for."

"Yes, I can see that now. Oh well, either way, they are obviously smarter than men are. After all, it only took it one try to understand what you were explaining."

Riza laughed and raised her gun to the target, aiming quickly and firing off several shots, all of them perfect hits. She lowered her gun and looked at the puppy. It was staring out at where she fired but didn't move an inch from its spot on the table.

"Too bad we can't train our men like we do our dogs," Rebecca stated. "Life would be better that way."

"I bet they say the same thing about us Rebecca," Riza replied, clicking the safety back on her gun before petting her pup on the head. "Good boy."

"Yes but they are wrong for wanting to train what is already great," Rebecca said.

Roy rolled his eyes upon hearing her words, the entire situation had been amusing until Rebecca started in on her man bashing. She complained about not being able to find a good man. The reason she couldn't find one wasn't that there weren't any good ones, but that she wanted to end up trying to "train" the men she got. There's wasn't a male alive that wanted to be bossed around.

"Don't you think things would be boring if we could train all of our men to be the way we wanted? Part of the joy of being with someone is the fun of discovering the differences and accepting and loving them for those differences. A relationship between two different people working together is so much more special than two of the exact same personalities or one being submissive to the other."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow at her friend's statement. "And just how do you know so much about relationships? Oh, and speaking of that," she said in a prompting tone. "You were supposed to tell me this big secret you have with Mustang. Let's have it."

Roy grinned mischievously as he stared straight at Rebecca's face, anticipation in his stomach building up for the enviable freak out of the woman. It would be worth the current pain in his neck from sitting in his current position for so long.

Riza's stomach suddenly felt like it wanted to empty its contents. Her heart began beating quickly, and it was almost as if she could feel the sweat seeping up through her pores ready to make its salty, smelly, and wet display upon her peach skin. All of her limbs felt like they were led style automail, and she was traveling on the proverbial road of guilt.

"Rebecca," Riza started, unsure of how to continue her sentence.

"Yeah?"

"You know I don't ask for things very often," she said. "But I'm going to have to ask you for something that will be extremely hard for you to do."

Rebecca looked at her friend quizzically, actually fearing what her friend was about to tell her. Riza sat her gun on the booth wall in front of her and leaned against the table behind her. She took her left hand and moved to grasp the middle of her right arm, a gesture that indicated unease in her.

Rebecca sat her gun down behind her and walked closer to Riza, who was now looking down at the floor. She rested a hand on her shoulder, causing Riza to look up. "What is it?" Rebecca asked, her voice lower in volume and in a more serious tone.

"I need you to forget what I said about the Colonel that day. Everything. Pretend like you never heard about it," she said, her voice shaking. Tears formed in her eyes and leaked down her cheeks softly, a very rare occurrence for her. "I wish I could tell you more Rebecca but I just can't, I'm sorry."

Riza's demeanor had changed so quickly that it terrified Rebecca. As the tears flowed down her cheeks, she realized that whatever secret Riza and Mustang was keeping, it was obviously something very volatile. "I understand. Don't worry, it will be as if I never heard anything about it," Rebecca said.

"Thank you," Riza said. "I am sorry that I can't share it with you."

"Just so you know, no matter what happens. I'll be here for both you and Mustang. Whatever his goals may be, he has my support."

Roy slowly stood from his place, stuck his hands in his pockets, and left the area, his entire body growing tenser and numb as he realized Riza didn't reveal anything to Rebecca. He didn't understand. After everything they'd talked about, after revealing her desire to tell her best friend, she didn't. It didn't make sense at all.

Then there was the fact that she'd cried. Anytime he saw Riza cry it felt like his insides were tearing apart. He knew that she and Rebecca were close but he didn't realize it was so close that she would cry in front of her. He didn't realize that Rebecca was as close to Riza as Maes was to him, that the friendship ran that deeply. Riza had mentioned it and he'd believed her but seeing was what brought it to a replete actualization.

Roy walked out of the range and headed home. He needed a hot shower and time to think before Riza got home. He needed to think about whether to admit to spying and ask her why she didn't tell, or to just keep things quiet and see if she would admit that she didn't.

--

Riza walked to her apartment, the rain beating down upon the black umbrella she carried, the thump of each drop on the fabric annoying her greatly and reminding her of the last time she walked in the rain alone. The little puppy she carried was cuddled into her embrace, clearly fearing that she was going to put it back in the rain.

"I'm your new owner now pup. No more cardboard boxes and rain for you," she said, gently, while looking down at the creature. "We'll get you a nice warm doggie bed and some toys tomorrow." It tucked its head between her arm and her body and snuggled down into the warmth of her jacket.

Riza smiled at the smart dog that, without a doubt, understood her fully. Rebecca had been surprised at how smart the animal was. Within a few tries, Riza had it retrieving the targets for her. It barked on command and easily fell into the atmosphere of the guns going off and the range.

She sighed. The situation with Rebecca hadn't gone as smoothly as she'd hoped. She'd hoped that all she'd have to say was I can't tell you. Please forget it. Unfortunately, her guilt and stress over the situation had gotten the best of her and she ended up crying. Of course, Rebecca accepted that Riza couldn't bring herself to tell her the secret and she knew from the hints she'd given a while ago that it had to do with a relationship with Roy. However, she didn't know how deeply, serious the relationship was, and Riza was confident that Rebecca wouldn't press the issue or even mention it again.

When she arrived at her apartment, she unlocked the door and opened it. She sat the pup down on the floor. "This is your new…" she trailed off as the puppy quickly ran inside and straight to her living room. She noticed that the light was on and assumed Roy was in there; but she still kept her guard up just in case. With everything going on around East City, it was better to play it safe than sorry. She entered the apartment, shut the door behind her, and locked it. After putting her purse on the table beside the door and discarding her coat and jacket, hanging them on the hanger, she went to her living room.

As expected, Roy was sitting in there, in front of the fireplace, in his favorite chair. The puppy was jumping and playing on his lap, Roy's earlier actions that day doing nothing to deter the puppy from playing with him. Then again, if her shooting at the animal didn't deter it from being around her, the excited shake that Roy gave it wouldn't have.

"He likes you," Riza said, further entering the room.

"Of course! Dogs love me!" Roy said loudly and enthusiastically.

"Did you know you sound like Armstrong when you talk like that?" She walked over to stand beside his chair, looking down at the dog on his lap.

"Damn it! Maes told me that too!" he said in a complaining tone. He pushed the puppy away from him. It quickly bounced back and bit his hand playfully, a small cute growl leaving him. "He's quick. He's like a little hurricane," Roy lifted his eyes to look at her. "You could call him Black Hurricane."

"Black Hayate," Riza said, using the Xingese term for Hurricane.

"Nice," he said. "Do you like that?" he questioned, lifting the puppy up and looking it in the eyes. He barked and wagged his tail, an action that Roy and Riza took as him accepting the name. Roy stood and took Hayate over to the fireplace. Much to Riza's amazement, there was a bed and chew toys there. He sat the pup in the bed, and it instantly cuddled down into the soft pillow and went to sleep.

Roy walked over to Riza and cupped her face in his hands, giving her a quick kiss. "When did you get those," she asked, motioning to the dog items.

"On the way home," he said, there's some treats and dog food in the kitchen."

Riza laughed and moved herself against him, resting her head against his chest. "You are going to spoil the animal, but thank you," she said.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "You are very welcome love."

She snuggled in his embrace and took a deep breath, taking in his fresh smell. She could tell that he'd just gotten out of the shower not long ago. His tank top was also slightly wet with his damp skin, cooling the parts of her body that was pressed against his chest.

She lifted her head and looked at him for a moment before giving him a quick kiss and moving her lips down to his neck, to kiss it gently and breathe in more of his smell. "I need a shower too, you smell better than me and that's not right," she joked, trying to forget the tiring day she had.

"Then go take a shower and relax. I'll fix some dinner."

She pulled away from him and raised an eyebrow. "You are going to cook?"

"Yep! I found this good looking premade stir-fry at the market today," he said. "You just add chicken."

Riza laughed. "Okay, if you call that cooking I'll let you have at it." She turned around and walked to the door, suddenly pausing directly in the doorway. "Roy, there's something I need to tell you after dinner. It's about…Rebecca."

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	48. No More Secrets

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 48: No More Secrets **

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit for this fanfiction. The only thing I gain for this is writing practice and entertainment value. **

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**No More Secrets**

Roy stared at her back, taking in the way her shirt clung to her like a second skin. Even though her back was concealed, he could mentally pinpoint every place on the tattoo and the extension of the burn on her back. He knew every line, every scar, and every mark that adorned her skin.

"All right, just try to relax until then," he finally answered, relieved that he might not have to bring up why she didn't tell Rebecca. He wouldn't have to reveal that he'd been spying on them, even though it wasn't out of any malicious intention or an invasion of privacy intention. Directly after he spoke, he saw her nod her head. She then turned the corner and headed toward the bathroom. He heard their bedroom door shut and a moment later, the pipes of the shower rattle, an indication that water running through them.

After standing in the living room for a moment, staring at the doorway she left through, he made his way to the kitchen and began fixing dinner, easily following the directions on the bag. No matter how much he tried to focus solely on his task, his mind kept drifting back to the way Riza spoke before she went to have a shower. Her tone had been very hesitant, as if she was afraid to speak to him about the topic. The way it came out of her, so unlike the way she normally spoke to him, made him wonder when it got to the point that the two were fearful of being completely honest with each other. Whenever that did happen, it needed to stop and he'd start by confessing his eavesdropping first, though it wasn't necessary.

Roy moved his gaze to the chicken browning in the wok and stared at it, his mind ingeminating his intentions and questions quickly, as if he kept flipping through a book filled with the same information.

When he saw that the chicken was brown, he added the vegetables in the bag of readymade stir-fry, and tossed them with the meat. He never took his gaze off the food as he watched it cook, descending back into the cluttered niches of his mind. He drifted off so deeply that he didn't hear Riza enter the kitchen.

"Well this is a change," she said and waited for his response. When it didn't come, she walked over to him and rested a hand on his shoulder, startling him.

He looked over his shoulder at her and couldn't help but grin when he saw the way she looked. Her hair was still damp and her wet bangs were dripping slightly, hitting the collar of the shirt she wore. It was one of his shirts that she'd taken to sleeping in. She smelled like the honeysuckle soap that she was fond of, reminding Roy of how they used to sit in the meadows when they were younger. Well, they were teenagers and it was a bit more than sitting in the meadow.

"Roy? You okay?" he heard her ask, and cut his thoughts out in favor of reality. "Yeah, sorry, I was thinking. I didn't hear you come in."

"That was evident," she said. She grabbed the spatula from his hand and gently pushed him out of the way to tend to the food in the wok. Roy was surprised at her actions at first until he noticed her stirring the contents quickly, making him realize that he would have burned the dinner if she hadn't taken control.

He moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. It was a familiar pose to them but it never got old or boring. If they could be near each other, they were thankful. So many things threatened to pull them away from each other. His hands moved to undo some of the shirts buttons at the middle, and he slipped them under the shirt. She leaned back against him and made no protest to his actions. She merely kept her eyes on the food.

"Roy…I know I said I would wait until after dinner, but I was thinking about it in the shower and I need to tell you now," Riza began speaking.

"You are going to tell me that you didn't tell Rebecca, aren't you?" he said, deciding to get to his confession in the best way possible. If he did that, she could get angry, vent at him, and then tell him why she didn't tell.

She quickly turned the stove off and sat the wok off the heat. She turned in his embrace, causing his hands to pull out from their place under her shirt.

"How did you know that?" Her features displayed a look that accompanied her inquiry perfectly.

"I was in the balcony area during your talk with her," Roy said, trying not to let his nervousness at telling her show through.

She pulled out of his embrace and walked over to the sink, her back facing him. "You were spying on me?" She couldn't believe that Roy would do that to her. He usually was very respectful of her private time with her friends.

"It is just that I wanted to…Well, it started out with me being mischievous," he said.

"Explain."

"I wanted to see Rebecca shit herself," Roy said bluntly. "I swear that when you didn't tell her I left. I'm sorry."

Riza reached up into the cabinets and retrieved two plates before going back over to the stove to put the food on them.

"Are you angry with me?" he questioned, so unsure about the way she was acting. She didn't seem angry but she was displaying odd behavior.

He watched as she took a deep breath. Her inhalation and exhalations were heavy, and clearly noticeable due to her body's movements. "No Roy, I'm not angry at all," she finally said and scooped some of the food onto one of the plates.

"Why?"

"Why what? Why I'm not angry?"

"Why didn't you tell her?"

Riza's body tensed slightly. "Can't you figure that out?"

"I've tried. I've been running whys through my head since I discovered you didn't tell her."

"Run them a bit more. You'll figure it out."

"Riza, I've ran them so much that whys could be synonymous with running marathons."

If Riza hadn't been so upset, she would have found that statement amusing. Right now, she was trying to figure out the best way to explain her reasons.

"I told you that you could tell her. Why didn't you?"

Finally, Riza's nerves couldn't take it anymore. She wasn't angry that he'd eavesdropped, she was angry with herself. She slammed the spoon in her hands down onto the countertop, the wooden utensil breaking, and the end flipping up into the air. It landed on the hardwood floor; the clicking sound it made was the offset of an intense silence upon the entire apartment, as if it was a muting tool.

Roy walked closer to her, took what was left of the spoon, and sat it on the counter. He turned her around and stared at her, her gaze unflinchingly meeting his. He didn't have to say a thing to her to get her to speak.

"I didn't tell Rebecca because it wasn't fair," she said, "I knew it wasn't and as much as I wanted to tell her everything I just couldn't bring myself to do it."

"But I told you that you could. I have no problem with it," he said, moving his hands down to rest on her waist.

"Yes you do," she said. "Since you told me, how many times have you wished you could tell Maes?"

"Riza I-" he started to say before she cut him off.

"How many?"

Roy sighed. "Several."

"Until you can reveal it to Maes, I won't say anything to Rebecca. It's only fair."

"You should have still told her despite the fact I want to tell Maes."

Riza's lips moved up into a very slight smile. "You are always the one to make the sacrifices Roy. It's about time I do it too. I feel like I don't do enough. You put all the work in our relationship. I need to be a better wife when I can and that means honoring my husband and his real wishes more."

"Riza, are you crazy? You are the most sacrificing woman I've ever met. You sacrifice everything by being with me."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I can't give you the real family that I know you want because of this damned military, because of my goal. I keep you in this marriage of ours when you could have the house and kids if you were with any other man. I'm not the kind of man you need but I just can't give you up. I'm selfish."

Riza shook her head. "No, that's not true. I'm so happy with you. I don't want house and kids with any other man. I don't love any other man. How long have you been carrying that inside?"

"For a long time," he said.

"There have been too many secrets between us," she said.

"Far too many. Let's not keep anymore. If we feel something, let's just tell the other."

"There are some secrets that aren't meant to tell," Riza stated. "There are some things we both know we have to keep in our minds."

"Okay then, how about as long as it involves us or we really want to talk about it. We shouldn't be afraid of each other," Roy said.

"All right, as long as it involves us. We can't betray secrets with friends after all."

Roy leaned down to brush her lips gently with his. "Agreed," he said.

Riza pulled out of his arms and grabbed another spoon before getting their food and handing him the plates to sit on the table. Soon they were both eating quietly, enjoying the lighter atmosphere around him, the tension seemingly fading as quickly as it rolled in.

"Maes told me about the Wayne's," Roy said.

Riza looked up from her food. "How are they?"

"Oh, they were pardoned of their crimes," Roy said bitterly.

"I know that tone, there's a but following that sentence," Riza said, laying her fork down on her plate.

"Damn right there's a but," Roy said. "They were convicted as accessories to murder and attempted murder. They were also convicted of abetting kidnapping and perjury. They betrayed us to peak. Everything was a set up, it was a way for Peak to test their loyalty, and we all fell for it."

"Did they get the kids back?"

"Yes, some of them."

"Some?"

"Yes…um…"

"No secrets," Riza reminded him.

"Some of the people killed the kids rather than give them back," Roy said and noticed Riza cringe slightly. If he hadn't spent so much time around her, he wouldn't have noticed it.

"I see," she said, and picked up her fork to continue eating.

"That's it?"

"Yes," she said, "there's nothing else to be done. I do feel stupid for actually believing the Wayne's story."

"Well we all did. They were good at what they did."

"Yes, they were," Riza said as she finished her food. "Did Maes mention why they all came here?" She stood, took his dish, and walked over to the sink to wash it. He kept his eyes on her for a moment as he watched her work before standing and walking over beside her. He grabbed a towel and dried the dishes as she handed them to him.

"Yes, there's a killer on the loose. He's an alchemist killer but he also seems to be the same guy that killed Tucker and Nina," Roy said. Riza stopped and turned her head to look at him as he put the plates back into the cabinet.

"Alchemist killer?"

"Yes, he's only targeting state alchemists," Roy said. "He's killed five so far.

"Why in the hell did they come here? Don't they know that it is likely the killer will follow? Or is it that they expect the flame alchemist to step in and snap?" She said the last part of the sentence with an extremely venomous tone.

"You know what happens when fear takes hold, rationality doesn't exactly encroach upon the mind."

"That's true," she said and drained the water out of the sink. She dried her hands and turned back to Roy. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Let's go to bed." She pressed her body against his sensually, telling him that when they went to bed, she didn't want to go to sleep right away.

"Sounds good to me."

--

Roy and Riza lay in bed. Roy was propped against a pillow while Riza was resting against his chest, his arms wrapped around her tightly. Both were covered by the thick warm blankets that adorned the bed.

Riza leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She smiled inwardly when she heard the rain outside begin to pick up in strength and Roy sighing heavily along with it.

"I hate rain," he groaned and buried his face in her hair.

"Yes, I know," she replied, the amusement in her voice evident. "It makes me sleepy. I like the sounds of it hitting against the windowsill. Too bad we can't hear it dripping on the roof. I used to love the sound of it when I was a child. It would lull me off to sleep every time. I didn't even pay attention to the thunder and lightning because of it.

"Hum…well you just gave me something to be grateful for rain wise when you mentioned your old home."

"What do you mean?"

"I never would have gotten to make love to you that night if that rain hadn't soaked your bed."

Riza laughed and elbowed him gently. "Do you really think so? You don't think we would have done that eventually?"

"Do you think we would have?"

"Oh, I think so," she said. "Sometimes I miss that old house."

"Someday we'll have our own home," he said.

"We have a home as long as we are together right? What's that expression? Home is where your heart is?"

"That's very…"

"Corny?" Riza offered.

"Yes. It sounds like something out of one of those romance novels you read."

Riza elbowed him again. "Okay, so it does, but it is true."

"I agree. All we are missing is a kid coming in because of the storm."

As soon as Roy spoke, they felt a small tug at the corner of their blanket at the foot of the bed. Soon, they saw Hayate climbing onto the bed. His ears were pulled back against his head and he was looking at them with his big brown eyes. Riza and Roy could tell the puppy was terrified of the thunder and lightning accompanying the storm outside.

"You can sleep at the foot of the bed Hayate," Roy said.

The puppy quickly cuddled under the blankets and fell asleep. Roy chuckled and turned his gaze to Riza.

"Close enough to a kid…for now."

---

Roy yawned widely as he walked into the kitchen, Hayate following happily on his heels. Riza handed him a plate of food and a cup of coffee then sat some food and water down for Hayate, who instantly dug into the meal.

Roy sat down at the table and began eating without giving her as much as a thank you or good morning. It wasn't as if she didn't expect his actions; Roy was usually very quiet until he had his morning sustenance. She walked over to kiss the top of his head before moving to take a seat and eat her breakfast.

As soon as Roy took a huge sip of his hot coffee, he seemed to be livelier but still didn't speak until he finished his breakfast. He took his dish over to the sink, cleaned it, and put it up before going to the kitchen door, scratching his hip on the way causing Riza to laugh loudly.

He turned around when he heard her laugh and looked at her quizzically. "What's so funny?"

"You reminded me of those old men in the movies when they wake up in the mornings. You know, when they go out to get the paper in their bathrobe and end up scratching their butt." She stood and walked over to the sink to clean her dish.

Roy stiffened and paled. "O…old?" he stuttered in question, his voice full of fear.

Riza turned toward him when she noticed the odd tone he used and laughed again when she saw the traumatized look on his face. It seemed she wasn't the only one with age issues. She walked over to him and hugged him, resting her face in the crook of his neck. She felt his arms wrap around her waist. "You aren't old," she said.

"I've been spotting grey hairs," Roy said.

Riza pulled her head away from his neck and stared at his face. She reached up so that she could run her hands through his dark locks, smiling as she felt the silky strands between her fingers, creating a very pleasant feeling for her. "You aren't going grey. Besides, even if you were you'd still be good looking. Grey hair makes men look dignified."

"You know, you are going to be beautiful with grey hair," he said. "If we live to get that old."

Riza pulled away and scoffed lightly. "I said it makes men look dignified. As if I'm going to let my hair get grey. That's what hair dye is for," she said, and walked out of the room.

Roy turned around and watched as she left, the way she spoke eerily reminding him of Rebecca. He shook his head of the disturbing thought and made his way to their bedroom to get dressed.

--

The morning was balmy, it was raining roughly, and, of course, this caused Roy's mood to be slightly caustic.

"This place is close to a desert! It isn't supposed to rain this damn much," Roy muttered as they went into the office. He moved to hang up his coat as Riza shook the water drops off the umbrella before closing it and putting it in the holder.

"It's the rainy season, Sir," she said. She removed her coat and walked over to the hanger to hang it up.

Roy muttered something Riza couldn't make out and walked over to his desk. She then left the office to go get the paperwork. She was surprised when she ran into Maes when she was halfway to her destination.

"Lieutenant, I was just on my way to the office. I need to talk to the two of you," he said, his face completely void of any of its normal happiness.

"I'll go get him," she said and turned toward the office when he grabbed her arm. She turned toward him and he let go of her limb. "Is there something else, Sir?"

"We are going to have to keep him safe Riza," he said.

She smiled at him. "That's what I'm here for."

"Yeah, I know" he said, grinning at her. "Armstrong and I will meet you two in the East wing. The abandoned one."

"Yes sir," she said and went to retrieve Roy.

They made their way to the place Maes directed. They turned the corner and saw Maes and Armstrong waiting there. Maes was sitting on one of the benches in the hallway and Armstrong was standing at his right.

Roy moved over to them and took a seat across from Maes as Riza went to stand on his right, in front of Armstrong. He inclined his head to her and she smiled softly at him. For some strange reason she didn't feel like Armstrong was a commanding officer and he never treated her like a subordinate. She felt an odd fellowship with the man. It was as if they were the same rank.

"What is it that you wanted to talk about?" Roy questioned his friend.

"We got more information on Scar," Maes said.

"Scar?" Roy said, never having heard the name.

"We don't know his name so that's what we call the alchemist killer now," Maes said.

"His background is a mystery and we don't know what kind of weapon he uses to destroy his victims or what his intentions are. It seems like he's everywhere," Armstrong said.

"Cops have turned up five more state alchemists in different parts of the country. If you count all of the aids and guards that have gotten in his way, it adds up in the dozens. Now he's out here," Maes added.

"How do you know that? Was there a death out here?" Riza questioned.

Maes directed his gaze directly into hers. "Yes, Basque Grand was found dead."

Riza's eyes widened. "He was a military martial arts expert and the Iron Blood Alchemist! This Scar managed to kill even him?"

"That's right," Maes punctuated strongly. Riza knew he was conveying that Scar could very well kill Roy. She would have to keep up a good watch on him, and had a feeling Maes was going to do the same. They both would die before they would let Roy be killed.

Roy gazed at the two, back and forth, having an odd feeling that even though they were speaking, they were saying much more than what was spoken verbally.

Maes turned his gaze back to Roy. "Let me give you some advice Roy. Double the security staff and lay low for a while. I'm asking you to do this as your friend. You are the only really famous state alchemist around here."

Fear shot through Roy's body as he remembered that he wasn't the only famous alchemist there in the city. "Oh shit!"

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**AN: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I love writing scenes with Roy and Riza at home. Some argue I make them too romantic but I believe they would be when they are alone because they have to restrain themselves a lot at work and in public.  
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	49. Discovery

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 49: Discovering **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from writing this fanfiction other than writing practice and a relief from boredom. **

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**Discovering**

Roy growled and cursed again before he jumped up from his seat, startling everyone present with his quick actions. "Where are the Elrics?" he asked, his voice filled with alarm.

"I saw them walking down Main Street on my way to headquarters," Armstrong said. As soon as he finished his sentence, his eyes widened when he realized that it was the last place they should have been considering the current danger.

A string of low spoken profanities left Roy's mouth, some Amestrian, some Xingese. He turned and quickly began walking down the hall, the other officers instantly following him without being ordered to do so. Riza moved to walk on his right while Maes and Armstrong walked on his left.

"Damn it, how could they be so careless," he muttered, agitation embedded in his tone.

"Did you ever tell them that there was an alchemist killer loose?" Riza questioned.

"No, they have no idea," Maes said. "They only know there's a serial killer."

"Shit, those boys always…Maes, see if you can get some men together and meet us at the back exit. Brief them quickly and have them get some cars immediately."

"Will do," Maes said, turning down the left hall.

Roy stopped and looked at Armstrong who was still at his left. "I think you would be more effective on foot. Head into the city and search anywhere you think they may be. Try Main Street and work your way around. It will take a while for us to get the men together. We need someone out there that can handle things."

Armstrong nodded. "Leave it to me. I shall find the Elric brothers." His booming voice echoed slightly in the hallway before he rushed ahead of them and down the stairs, his footsteps thumping heavily on the floor.

Roy turned to Riza. "Go to the office and get Havoc and the others. Then, meet me outside where everyone will be waiting."

"Yes sir," she said and headed in the direction toward the office, walking briskly, just under a light jog. She walked through the doors and directed her gaze to Havoc and the other men, who were working on their paperwork. "We have a mission, let's go. We have to meet the others at the back exit."

The men stood up and without any questions or inquiring glances, they followed Riza to the back of the building. There were a line of men at the bottom of the steps and Maes was briefing them on their mission. Roy was leaning against the tall stone wall that served as banisters for the steps. He jerked his gloves on and then shoved his hands into his pockets. His entire posture was tense; his mannerisms painted with aggravation and outlined with a thin coating of worry.

Maes finished speaking and Roy pushed away from the wall and stepped down to stand in front of them. "Two cars will take the east side of the city and search, two cars will take the West side," Roy began, giving the men concise orders. The men that worked under him didn't need anything more than straight to the point instructions. If you find the Elric brothers, take them into protective custody, radio the other vehicles, and head back here. If Scar is there, do not attempt to arrest him on your own. Do what you can for the Elrics but don't risk your lives in the process. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!" the men said."

Maes's eyes widened. How could Roy say something like that? Wasn't the entire point of the mission to rescue the Elrics? Riza walked down to stand on Roy's right side.

"Then move out," Roy ordered.

"Yes, sir!" the men said at the same time, clicking their heels together and saluting in perfect unison. They then turned and got into two of the four cars in the area.

Roy turned to Havoc and his direct subordinates and gave a nod. Havoc got into one car to drive while Falman, Fuery, and Breda got into the third car with another soldier Roy didn't recognize.

"How can you say that?" Maes questioned.

"What?" Roy said.

"Don't risk your lives in…"

"We may be willing to give our lives for the Elric's but I won't ask it of these men. It will be their own choice, not my orders, whether to jump in and risk their lives substantially for the brothers." Roy then walked away from Maes and towards the car.

"I…"

"You're his friend. You've never seen him before a mission?" Riza asked.

"Is he always like that?" Maes questioned. It was true; he'd never seen Roy really in a high commanding position. Ishbal had been strictly following orders and even then, he never saw Roy in action.

"Yes, he takes care of the people under him but he won't stand for anyone going for the risk of dying unless it is under their own volition." Riza quirked the left side of her lips. "There's something you don't really know though. I don't even think Roy knows it."

"What's that?"

"Every one of those men in those cars would willingly die protecting Roy and the Elrics," Riza stated.

"How do you know that?"

She turned her gaze to him and offered him a knowing smile. "Because I know every one of them and served with some of them in Ishbal. You have good taste. They are special forces," she said, then made her way to the car where Roy was standing waiting for them.

"What were you two talking about?" he questioned.

"Nothing important," she said with a grin before getting into the car.

Maes stood there dumbfounded. He had no clue that those men were anything other than the normal combat soldier. He shook his head and quickly made his way into the car. Roy got into the car as he was approaching. Maes followed shortly and shut the door behind him.

All of the cars then revved to life, the sounds of the engines sounding like the rolls of thunder that accompanied the heavy rains that were currently pelting the east area. Havoc hit the gas pedal and the vehicle kicked up the gravels of the driveway as they sped out of the headquarters grounds.

As the cars pulled out onto the wet streets, they formed a perfect line, military precision even evident in the way each driver drove. They all signaled at the same exact intervals, they all turned at the same angles, they all kept perfect equal distance from each other. The line of cars seemed more like a motorcade carrying an important head of state rather than simple cars filled with soldiers on a mission.

Only when they arrived at an intersection was the unity broken. The first two cars signaled right while the last two signaled left. They went their separate ways, now completely focused on the mission to find Scar and the Elric brothers, hopefully the latter still being alive and in one piece.

Roy removed a hand from his pocket and ran it through his hair. "Why in the hell do those boys always have to be in the wrong places at all the wrong times? They are going to give me gray hairs by the time I'm thirty."

"You are already thirty, Sir," Riza said, trying to keep the amused tone out of her voice. What she really wanted to do was reassure him that she never saw any gray hair anywhere in his beautiful dark locks, but with Maes and Havoc in the car she, obviously, had to refrain from doing so. Roy had serious age issues for some odd reason.

"Thank you for the reminder, Lieutenant," Roy said, folding his arms across his chest.

"Our main concern is finding out where they are. Armstrong said he saw them walking toward Main Street. If they are there I doubt Scar has gotten to them," Maes said. "He doesn't do anything in plain view. Most of the murders occurred in dark alleys or during the midnight-early morning."

"You haven't spent much time out here Maes," Roy said. "When it rains, Main Street looks like it is in the center of a ghost town."

"So Scar can attack them anywhere in the city? Damn!"

"Why can't those kids have enough sense not to play in the rain?" Roy grumbled.

Maes started to respond but didn't as he felt an odd rumble around them, like a small tremor. It reminded him of the times when the mines they set off in Ishbal exploded.

"What the hell was that? Did you feel it?" Roy asked.

"Earthquake tremor?" Maes questioned.

"Impossible, there's no fault line anywhere near here," Riza said.

The car suddenly came to a screeching halt against the wet pavement.

"Chief! Look!" Havoc said.

Roy quickly opened his car door and stepped out, ignoring the fact that he stepped into a deep puddle of water, the liquid to soak the bottom of his pants. He gazed into the distance and cursed as he watched a large plume of thin dust drifting into the air and dispersing the higher it rose in the sky. When the sound of an explosion enraptured the environment Roy hurried back into the car, slamming the door shut roughly.

"Head for that dust Havoc," Roy ordered.

"Got it," he said. He pressed his foot hard onto the gas pedal, the back tires of the vehicles sliding right then left before they headed straight.

"Radio the other cars just in case they didn't see the smoke," Roy ordered.

"No need chief, they are at the intersection ahead," Havoc replied. Roy turned slightly to see the other two military vehicles waiting on the left side of the intersection. The cars waiting pulled behind them and once again, they drove in a quick line toward the place where the Elrics were likely fighting for their lives.

"I hope crowds aren't forming around that area. It could get too chaotic if they do."

"People here would run from it rather than rubberneck," Riza said. "We won't have to worry about crowd control until the incident is over."

"I see. Well this place is really nothing like Central. If there is so much as a fist fight on Main Street we'd need several dozen men to keep the crowds away."

The car turned around a curve quickly, sliding on the puddles building up on the roads. Riza jerked to the left and fell onto Roy's lap. Her dog tags flew out of her shirt and across to the other seat in the car, hitting Maes in the face before falling onto his lap. Roy wrapped his arm around her waist and helped her sit upright.

"Sorry about that, Sir," she said.

"It's all right Lieutenant." She moved from her place on his lap and returned to her seat beside him. She reached up around her neck since she no longer felt her dog tags hanging there: a steady calming presence that was suddenly gone. A tinge of panic ran through her at the thought of her tags, and more so, her wedding rings, missing.

"You looking for these?" Maes questioned, holding up the tags and showing them to Riza. "They have a rather interesting addition to-" he was cut off when Roy grabbed the tags out of his grasp and handed them back to Riza.

"You didn't see anything on that chain except for tags," Roy said, using a big more of a caustic tone when speaking to Maes than usual.

Maes was surprised at the defensive and acerbic tone Roy used toward him and reasoned it was because of the intense stress Roy had been under for the past few days. He was going to tease Riza about the rings to get her flustered a bit; lighten the mood with some friendly galling so that they would be able to focus better when they faced Scar. Why was Roy getting so defensive about the tiny pieces of jewelry? There weren't tied to him after all… were they? Maes thought a moment. Surely, Roy and Riza weren't as careless as to… no it was a crazy thought. Riza wouldn't go for it: she was too much of a stickler for rules. Gracia told him about seeing a set of rings on Riza's necklace. Riza said that they belonged to her mother; however, something didn't seem right with that explanation.

"Damn, the clasp is broken," Riza said when she tried to put the chain back around her neck. Roy removed his notebook and pen out of his inner jacket pocket and drew something on one of the pages. He sat the notebook flat on his lap revealing a simple transmutation circle drawn with red ink. He took the chain from her grasp and removed the items from it, handling the rings much gentler than the nametags. He handed them to her and sat the chain on the circle. He touched the array and with a simple red light, the clasp on the chain was fixed.

"I had to use up some of the chain to make a new side clasp, so they may fit a bit closer to your neck," Roy said, handing her it back to her.

"Thank you sir," she said, then returned the items back to hang on the chain. She latched it behind her neck then tucked them back under her shirt.

Roy returned his small black book and pen back to the safety of their previous locations.

Maes stared at the two officers and the way they interacted with each other, and as he processed the events, realized there was more to those rings than they were letting on. "Whatever it is that is going on," Maes whispered, as he leaned toward them, "I hope you two know what you are doing. If there's some truth to what I think is going on, you are going to be treading on very thin ice," he said.

"I don't know what you are talki-" Roy started to say before Riza cut him off.

"We've been fine so far. No close calls at all." Riza leaned toward Maes. "Just forget what you saw and we'd all be much better off." Though the words seemed harsh, her tone was anything but. They carried a sense of pleading to them, a sense that yes, there was something going on but don't push into it.

Roy turned his head to look at her and found her staring into Maes's eyes. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard her speak. In an indirect manner, she basically told Maes that whatever suspicions he had were true. He just couldn't figure out why exactly she decided to do so.

"I see," Maes said, sitting back in his seat. "I saw nothing, I know nothing."

Riza smiled and sat back against her seat as well. "Thanks," she said.

"If you two need anything, you know not to hesitate in telling me," Maes said, his tone still low enough so that Havoc couldn't hear him.

"We know," Riza said.

Roy was left sitting there very confused at the conversation between the two. Usually it was he and Maes talking in such short secretive sentences. Now that he heard Maes and Riza talk in such a manner, he was greatly baffled. Not over the fact that Maes knew about he and Riza, at least somewhat, but over the fact Riza was learning to trust his best friend.

Roy's thoughts were interrupted when the car came to a halt. Everyone quickly got out of the car and shut their doors. They rushed to pull out their guns and point them at the man known as Scar. Riza's heart dropped as her gaze fell to Edward.

Ed was laying on his right side, his arm twisted so that his palm was facing upward, his bent fingers pointing toward the gray sky. His automail arm was shattered and laying a few feet away from him. His body was lying in a puddle atop the cold, wet pavement, and rain was hitting him, the drops of precipitation running down his golden locks in the form of small streams. There was a look of surprise on his face but his golden eyes were full of fear as Scar dominated over him like a skyscraper of human flesh and blood. His large hand was only an inch from touching Edward's head: from murdering a young man that never harmed an innocent person in his life.

Roy fired his gun, pointing it toward the sky, the sound echoing through the area and causing Scar to stand straight and turned toward them, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Roy.

Riza frantically trailed her eyes around the area looking for Alphonse and withheld a gasp when she saw him laying in the alley, one side of his body shattered and having no way to save his brother. She could only imagine the horror that the younger Elric was feeling at seeing his brother so close to death with no way to prevent it. If she'd been in his place and Roy had been in Edwards. She would be so horror-stricken and feel so useless she wouldn't want to live.

"That is far enough," Roy said. She turned her attention toward scar and back to the task set before them. "You made too much of a mess of things around this country Scar. I'll be taking you into custody under the offense of murdering a series of state alchemists." Roy's voice was full of authority and showed no hint that he feared the murderer standing in front of him. "That was pretty close Fullmetal," he said, directing his gaze to the young man.

"Colonel!" Edward exclaimed as he sat up, clearly shocked that they all were there.

"The world was made perfect by god. Nothing needs to change and he dictates the course of all living things. Alchemists deface god's creations!" Scar spoke, his voice one of religious obsession, speaking like a preacher would to a congregation. His voice boomed over all of them, spoke of their sins like he was trying to convert them all to the holy truth. "They change things out of their perfect form into sin! They exalt themselves as being equal or greater than god is! I will bring judgment upon such men! I act has god's hand! I do god's will! I am an instrument of divine judgment!"

"That's so typical of religious maniacs who spout ridiculous notions like that. They supposedly come from a peace loving, righteous god! You are nothing but contradictions!" Roy yelled, his voice growing increasingly angry the more he stared at the man before him. "Even if I were to say your reasons made sense, why do you only target state alchemists? There are other alchemists around the country as well."

"If you insist on standing in my way. I will destroy you as well," Scar said, and turned to face Mustang directly, a determined look making its way onto his face. He was going to kill every one that he considered an obstacle his mission, alchemist or not.

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**Note: My friend Riri has made a fancomic featuring scenes from this fiction. **** You can find the it here: http :// rinoaebastel. deviantart. com/ art/ Old-times-page-1-125674270** ** without the spaces of course. ** **It's called Old Times and it's very cute.**** Please check it out. If the link didn't show up, it should be on my profile soon or you can find it on deviant art. Her username is rinoaebastel.  
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	50. Fighting Scar

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 50: Fighting Scar**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from writing this fanfiction other than writing practice and a relief from boredom. **

**AN: Hope you enjoy the chapter. As always I switched up some dialogue and added new stuff. **

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**Fighting Scar**

Mustang and Scar aimed their gazes at each other, sending threats of fire and judgment through their narrowed eyes and guarded postures. Scar had issued a challenge to him in the form of a threat. Roy was going to accept, attempt to destroy Scar, and Riza couldn't be more disquieted over the situation. She didn't like seeing her commanding officer, her husband, fighting anyone. Her heart screamed and pleaded for someone to come along and drag Roy away while they all fought Scar. She wanted him to be locked in a room somewhere surrounded by anything the serial killer couldn't destroy. Riza pushed those emotions to the back of her mind, knowing that no matter how much she willed something, nothing would come into fruition.

"Looks like things are going to get interesting." Mustang's voice carried that dangerous cockiness that always appeared in his tone when he was about to fight someone. He swung his arm towards her and opened his hand. He dropped the gun into her grasp when she instinctually reached up for it. As the cool metal of the weapon hit her palm, shots of apprehension blasted through her body. "Lieutenant, I don't want any of you interfering in this. See to that."

Her eyes broadened and she faltered to the side slightly, her body ladened with shock when she heard his words. Surely, there was no way he would be so stupid to do what she thought he was going to do. Roy turned to Scar and took a step. His simple footfall was a catalyst for Riza's mind turning into a cannon and shooting out protests one after another, splattering them against the part of her brain in charge of her oral ability. There were so many ways to say what she needed to speak, so many tones, so many different thoughts that she just couldn't organize her normally faultless intellections.

When Roy jerked his gloves tighter, another assertion that he intended to face Scar alone, Riza's emotions began their balancing act on the thin line between composure and discomposure. He couldn't be serious! Not here! Not in the current environment. She wouldn't let this be his grave! She grasped onto the skill of hiding her feelings so that he wouldn't know how truly terrified she was.

"Colonel Mustang!" She managed to say, hoping he realized her strong protest and dissipate the ego that was clouding his rational thinking concerning a large matter that had to do with his alchemy.

"Mustang? The Flame Alchemist?" Scar's voice was full of malicious inquiry.

"Yes, the one and only," Roy said, "and I'll be making you a funeral pyre."

Riza resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Roy's words. That type of line was horrible to say at a time like this. "Colonel!" Riza protested again, this time her protesting tone was obvious. She was unable to get anything out other than his name. Her body was in a state of escalating panic. She wanted to knock him out at that very moment with the butt of her gun.

A joyous yet maniacal laugh left Scar as he took a step away from Edward and toward Roy. "I never thought I'd see a day like this! You stray from the path of god, blaspheme his holiness, and then come to meet your judgment of your own free will. This is a glorious day!"

Roy's laugh joined Scars except his was one of sarcasm and arrogance. "You know who I am and you still want to fight me? If your god is truly guiding you then he is foolish and you are an idiot to follow him to your death," Roy said, his voice getting louder with each word he spoke. Roy began pacing toward Scar as the killer began running toward him. He reached his hand out as Roy prepared to snap.

Then Riza's body suddenly went into autopilot, the bodyguard and frantic side of her kicking in as she raced toward the two men about to fight. As she ran, her heart was thumping so rapidly that she could hear the blood pumping through her. Her feet were ramming the concrete so arduously that they were already pulsing with pain, feeling like small needles were being pushed in the balls of her feet each time they made contact with the ground.

She flipped her guns into the proper positions as she closed in on her targets. Roy snapped, a small puff of smoked coming forth instead of the steal melting flames he was expecting. Scar's hand charged toward his head, a harbinger of Roy's death. Just as it got mere inches away, she swooped down and in a spinning kick, her feet kicking up small tsunamis from the puddles pooled on the ground, she knocked Roy's feet out from under him. He fell flat on his back with a firm thud. As soon as she turned back in Scar's direction from her spin, she opened fire, not aiming to hit him but strictly focused on getting him as far away from Roy as possible. She kept up a constant barrage of bullets until Scar took cover around a corner.

Riza took a deep breath, stopped firing, and straightened her posture. If she'd been just a few seconds late in her actions, Roy would have been laying there on the concrete with his head blown into chunks. She withheld a cringe at the thought but her mind was soon relieved of those mental pictures with Roy's screech.

"Why in the hell did you do that?" His anger was evident but she could hear from the lilt that he'd been terrified as well. She had gotten close to Scar and it was a strong possibility that he could have hit her. That didn't matter to her as long as he was safe, but she knew it was preying on his mind. "That's no way to get promoted Hawkeye!" he yelled, adding it so people wouldn't see his true feelings.

Riza looked out of the corner of her eyes and sighed inwardly at the fact that he still didn't understand why she took action. She wanted to safe him the embarrassment but since he was being so damned stubborn, she wouldn't do so. "You need to stand back Colonel. You're useless on rainy days."

Roy's mouth dropped open and his eyes emptied of any anger and fear that they'd previously held. There was a barely distinguishable tint on his cheeks from feeling slightly embarrassed at his current situation.

Havoc held his hand as he studied the raindrops patting down on his flesh then running off or pooling in the creases in his skin. He tilted his hand to release the water that had accumulated. "She's right, Chief. Wet gloves can't make a spark."

Havoc's comment caused Roy's face to darken and his fists to clinch tightly, gripping the water of the puddle that he was currently sitting in.

"You came to fight me but you can't make sparks," Scar said taking a step out of concealment. "This will make my job much easier. God gave us this rain to show you that you should give up! I will destroy anyone that stands in my way to you. Even the woman in front of you!"

Riza narrowed her eyes at Scar, even more agitated at him than she had been before, something she figured would be impossible. She hated being singled out because of her sex and being treated as if she was a weaker human being than the males around her.

Scar moved his arms as if loosening up for another attack. Before he could move, they heard a very familiar regal sounding voice spread across the area. Anyone that heard the voice would never forget it. "Go ahead and try!"

Scar turned and dodged before a punch hit him, the sound of the fist whooshing through the air, telling him of how brutal the punch would have been.

"Another one!" Scar said, surprised that there was someone behind him. If the man hadn't spoken, he wouldn't have known he was there.

"You dodged that! Not half bad!"

Everyone's face faltered at the calm and always flamboyant Armstrong who seemed to show no fear of the man he was about to fight: his normal outrageous confidence displaying everywhere on his form.

"You brazen insurrectionary! I've had enough of you! You want to destroy everyone here! That will not happen as long as I am around!"

"Does he really have to display that much cheesiness in one day?" Riza muttered to herself as Armstrong flexed into various positions as he gave his speech.

"Useless…just useless…" Roy muttered, devastated over the words that Riza used to describe him.

"Just give it a rest, Sir." She glanced at him. He was on his knees looking down at the ground as if he was humbling himself before someone. She spoke loud enough for Roy to hear but low enough so that the other's present around them wouldn't hear her.

Roy slowly stood from his place on the ground and straightened his clothing. He coughed once and folded his arms over his chest. He directed his gaze at Armstrong as he continued his lecture to the serial killer.

"You must first vanquish me before you hurt anyone else and that will not be an easy task. I am the Strong- Arm Alchemist! Alex Louis Armstrong!"

"So many of you have come out of the woodwork! This saves me a lot of trouble. God truly grants me great gifts!" Scar said, stretching out his tattooed arm, preparing for a fight. He grinned determinedly, showing no hesitation in his task of killing Armstrong.

"Still won't back down? Very well then! I shall show you the artistic alchemy that has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!"

Armstrong raised his arm and then smashed his fist down into the ground, the gauntlet he wore ripping up the concrete causing spikes and other projectiles to burst forth. They all rushed toward scar, throwing up chunks of rocks and streams of grey dust toward everyone in the area. Scar flipped back and then rushed forward, catching the spikes in the palm of his hand, and annihilating them with his alchemy.

"Major! Don't tear up the street!" Havoc yelled at him, disturbed at the amount of property damage the man was causing.

Armstrong raised his fist into the air, the weapon he wore over it glistening thanks to the raindrops that currently pelted it, and then slid to fall off the silver metal. He huffed loudly as if he was appalled by Havoc's words. "What's that you say? Creation follows destruction! What is created can also be destroyed!" The hand that wasn't in the air came to clutch at the fabric of his shirt. "Those are the true rules of alchemy! Two sides of the same coin! As lasting as the lines of the Armstrong family!" As he spoke, he ripped off his shirt as an accompaniment to his declarations. He moved to flex once again, as if he was in a strong man competition rather in a fight for his life.

Scar, raised his right eyebrow at the man and took a step back, not out of fear but out of utter confusion over the alchemist's actions. He didn't know whether it was a raindrop or sweat drop that had rolled from his forehead and dripped off his brow. If it weren't against his morals to bet, then he would have betted for the latter. He also found it hard to believe that a man like Armstrong was such a worthy opponent.

"Why does he have to strip?" Riza questioned. Her left eyebrow rose into a strange arch and twitched as her grasp held to her gun. Armstrong definitely wasn't your everyday alchemist and she was thankful that Roy didn't jerk off his clothing and flex his muscles every time he snapped. She chuckled to herself. That would be rather comedic at the very least.

Armstrong finally moved from his posing to turn completely toward Scar, keeping his guard up for an impending attack. "A true Alchemist knows what I am saying is true. Isn't that right, Scar?"

Roy's face morphed from one of concentration to one of surprise. His eyes widened when he realized exactly what Armstrong was implying. "What the hell!" Roy said, "Are you saying that he's an alchemist?" He was now fully recovered from his dramatic useless state of mind and focused on the words that Armstrong spoke.

"I knew it," Edward muttered, now on his knees in the same spot he'd been sitting since the group arrived.

"There are three main stages to alchemical transmutation!" Armstrong said, saying nothing more.

Roy nodded. "Analysis of the materials, deconstruction, and then reconstruction. It's just as Scar was doing…I see, he stops at the deconstruction."

"If he's an alchemist, isn't he going against his own doctrines," Havoc asked.

"Yes, he is and I'm still wondering why he's only going after those with licenses."

"He's not really going against his beliefs if you want to really get into the nuts and bolts of the situation," Riza said. Roy and Havoc looked at her. They were surprised when she holstered her pistol and rushed to one of the cars.

"What do you mean?" Roy questioned her when she arrived back to her position with a rifle in her grasp.

"He's not doing alchemy if he doesn't complete the three stages."

"Yes you are right," Roy said, "But he's still using the same principles."

"He's using the reasoning that what he's doing isn't wrong because he's not completing the transmutation," Riza replied, "but that is just a guess."

"I would say that it is a damn good one," Roy said then turned back to watch Armstrong's fight with Scar.

Armstrong charged, throwing punches at Scar as the killer dodge every swing the bigger man made. The street and the corners of buildings were being destroyed with their boisterous fighting. Armstrong glanced at Riza a moment and nodded once before backing Scar against a brick wall and starting a punch toward him.

"Damn, Armstrong is leaving himself open," Roy growled. He suddenly turned to Riza when he saw her move. He was surprised to see her kneel, cock her rifle, and fire a shot, just as Armstrong backed away from Scar as he was zooming in on his side.

Riza pulled the trigger. A bullet erupted from the barrel of her rifle with a deadly thunderous crack. He dodged the first bullet, his body not able to avoid a bullet as well as he could a punch coming from someone. He was barely able to dodge the second bullet that Riza fired so quickly after the first one; his body looked like it was being weighted down by something. Then with the third shot, he failed to dodge and the bullet made contact and slicked through the skin of his temple. His glasses were knocked off his eyes. They hit the wet pavement, the dark lenses breaking and scratching against the hard ground.

"Did you get him?" Roy asked, his gaze focused on Scar and how the murderer paused in his tracks.

"I scratched him, he's amazingly quick," Riza answered, absently wishing she were as quick as the man.

Scar stood in his tracks and stared down at his broken glasses lying in a puddle of dark grey tinted water. Of all the people there, of the alchemists there, it was a woman with her guns that managed to hit him. A ting of admiration for her passed through his body at that point because she hit him without the use of the god damned, alchemy, but the feeling was fleeting. As he promised, if she stood in his way, in god's way, he would kill her. He looked up at the group of officers, and his eyes narrowed at them. However, his gaze was focused specifically on the young woman holding the rifle and staring at him with eyes almost the color of his. In the back of his mind, he wondered if she carried a bit of Ishbalian blood within her.

Many of the soldiers that were present were engulfed with shock and a bit of guilt could be seen in their deportments if one was adept to reading body language. His eyes revealed things that lingered in the nightmares of the people there that had served in Ishbal during the massacre. His deep red eyes told of a bloody past and his dark skin reminded them of the hot desert that they'd all been forced to reside in for so long.

"He's an Ishbalian," Roy said.

Scar rose to stand straight, keeping his eyes transfixed on Riza and now Roy as well.

Edward gazed at everyone's faces and became even more uneasy about the situation. The environment seemed to grow gloomier and the air seemed to thicken with so much tension that, if solid, would be hard enough to saw through. He didn't understand exactly why it was happening and scolded himself for being such a child. Yes, he was still a child and realized he had a lot of growing up to do. He held his shoulder tightly, the tips of his fingers digging into what was left of the metal attachment engrafted in his skin.

He turned his gaze toward Lieutenant Hawkeye, who always seemed to be so composed, and saw that she looked like she was seeing a ghost. She looked away from Scar slightly, the action making Edward's stomach sink and his saliva tasted slightly sour. He found himself angry at Scar for putting such a look on her face.

"Maybe there are too many of you after all," Scar said, his voice deep and connoting that he was thinking of escape.

Roy snapped out of his haunting and raised his hand. "Don't run for it." Everyone got back to business as if his hand had knocked away the gloom that had descended over them. Riza raised her gun straight for his head. One shot and it would all be over for him. Soldiers surrounded the area, pulling their guns from their holsters and pointing them at Scar as well. "You are surrounded Scar. Give up."

Scar raised his hand and struck it, palm down, onto the pavement. A loud rumble reverberated through the area, a sound better suited to a freight train. Then, energy erupted from the place he hit, shooting outward and upward in the form of red lightning bolts. The soldiers could feel the heat of the energy as it threatened to surround them and heat the ground beneath their feet. Instead, the pavement crumbled directly under Scar then ripped outward as if it was a liquid being disturbed instead of stone. Edward rushed out of the way of the cave in as Armstrong flipped backward and other soldiers rushed away.

Dust and debris shot into the air, clouding the area in a light dust but not clouding visibility.

When all the dust cleared there was a huge chasm in the middle of the street, the sewers visible to all that would venture to gaze over into the pit. Everyone cautiously walked over and peered down.

"That maniac went into the sewers," Havoc said.

"Don't go after him," Roy ordered, moving to stand beside the blond lieutenant.

Havoc gazed at his commanding officer in a manner that one would look at another who lost their head, then quirked his right lip up in a sarcastic grin, his cigarette twitching as he did so. "Damn, and here I was about to jump in and fight him with my bare hands."

Roy rolled his eyes at Havoc's sarcasm and fought down the urge to throw him in the sewers. He turned to Armstrong.

"I'm sorry. You gave us enough time to surround him but we-"

"No, no, no, I was doing all I could to keep from being killed. Giving you more time was the last thing on my mind. However, I was very surprised that Lieutenant Hawkeye got my hint to try something."

Roy looked over at Hawkeye, who was now talking with two other soldiers, then nodded before turning his gaze back toward Armstrong. "I was wondering what she was doing. I didn't order anything or see the hint you gave."

"The lieutenant is very perceptive. She-." He didn't get to finish his sentence because Hughes interrupted him.

"Hey! Is it over yet?"

Armstrong and Roy looked to the right at a nearby restaurant sign and saw Hughes peeking out from around the corner of a grey stone building. He smiled widely at them and walked out, giving a thumbs up before walking over to stand beside Roy.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, where have you been all this time?" Armstrong questioned, looking bewildered over the man's previous location.

"I was hiding," he said, unashamed at admitting his actions. "If things went horribly wrong, someone had to live to tell the tale. Besides, my darling Elecia would never forgive me if I didn't bring her one of those cute eastern teddy bears."

Roy glared at his best friend. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned forward a bit so he could stare Maes directly in the eyes. "You know, we could have used some help. Next time you could perhaps consider assisting us!"

Maes huffed and laughed incredulously. "No way! I don't want to be dragged under the big top with the rest of you freaks. No thank you my friend."

Roy's eyebrow twitched, "Freaks?" He muttered and started to say something more but Maes began ordering the troops around him, solely focused on the task at hand.

"Hey, the fight is over," Maes said to several soldiers, "We've got a lot of work to do. Distribute an identification sketch of the assailant around the city ASAP. Block the entrances to this street and have the road crews make a detour."

"Yes, Sir!" They all said and walked in different directions.

Roy chuckled as he watched his friend go from a goofy man to a straight to business officer. He may not be a freak, as he put it, but if he wasn't a freak of the big top, he was definitely the clown.

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**AN: Well, what did you think? Reviews are much loved and appreciated. **

**AAN: I have a twitter so please follow me on there. I often have the state of my next chapters up on there. My twitter name is MStarDutchess. Here's the page: ht tp: // twitter. com/ MStarDutchess without the spaces as always. I wish this site would let us post links. Everyone should request that as the next new feature. Lol **


	51. The Deal

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 51: The Deal  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. ****This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of original characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The author holds exclusive rights to the overall course of the plot. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.**

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**The Deal  
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The soldiers began their duties as soon as orders were issued. Half went to block off access to the area for anyone that didn't reside in the apartments or have emergency business regarding the companies along the street, while the others began blocking off the huge hole in the middle of the road. Ed's cry for his brother did little to distract them from their duties. The only ones that turned their head toward the young man were the ones that knew him personally.

"Alphonse!" Ed yelled, his voice full of worry and cracking as he vocalized his brother's name. He rushed toward Al, his feet slipping and sliding along the wet concrete, causing him to curse in his head at the slow pace that it seemed to cause his body to take.

Alphonse was sitting against the dirty, grey stone of the building, facing the other wall and saying nothing. The rain was making soft clinks on his armor as it hit and ran down to the place where it was blown apart, then dripping down to what was left of the loincloth, soaking it into a dark blue.

"Al! Al! Are you okay? Say something! Talk to me Al!"

"Edward…" Al said, trailing off in a manner that indicated that he was going to speak something else. His voice was very calm, like he was completely relaxed despite his current state of destruction.

"Yeah Al?" Ed questioned, concern hugging his tone.

Suddenly, Al's fist burst forward. The hard metal made such a rough contact with Ed's face that he was sure his jaw had been broken.

Ed's eyes expanded and he reached up with his hand to rub his face. His mouth dropped open, showing pure dismay and shock that Al punched him. His brother had never raised a hand to him before. He opened his mouth to speak but Al conquered his words.

"Why didn't you run when I told you to, you idiot?" His voice was filled to the brink with lilts displaying his fear and anger.

"B…Because!"

"That's not an answer idiot!"

"Because I didn't want to leave you there!" Ed said, quite confused that his brother had to ask such a thing. Had Al honestly expected him to leave?

Alphonse's fist said hello to Ed's face yet again. This time the punch knocked the smaller Elric to the ground. "That's so stupid! You are a stupid idiot! You should have left!"

Mustang's team continued to watch, despite the less than stellar appearance of the two, they couldn't help but be amused by their banter. It was as if they were the day's reprieve from the life threatening events that rained over them.

"Why? If I would have run away you might have been killed!" Ed's voice was now gaining in volume the more he spoke. He was incredulous that Al was acting the way he was.

"He might not have killed me too! You didn't know for sure if he would have actually done it!"

"I couldn't take a risk like that Al! I couldn't lose you! I couldn't leave. I had to give my life up for yours!""

"It wasn't only your decision to make! With you dead, how did you know that he wouldn't kill me? You'd take his word. And what was I going to do with you gone? What kind of life would that have been? Only an idiot would choose death when there's a way to survive. Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!"

Ed narrowed his eyes, his eyebrows furrowing along with them. "Don't talk that way to your older brother!" Ed scolded.

"Sometimes I wonder who the older brother is! I'm more level-headed, mature and…and…and I am taller!"

"Oh no you didn't!"

"That's right! I am Talllllllll…errrrr."

Ed's posture slumped. "That was a low blow Al!"

"Ha-ha, you said low!"

Ed tensed back up and made a fist. "Argh! Don't talk to me like that!" He yelled, as a vein protruded from the right side of his forehead and twitched every few seconds.

Alphonse grabbed Ed by the collar and pulled him closer, the wet fabric sinking into his skin, rubbing it raw. "I'll talk to you however I want! You have to keep living so that you can research! You can't get our old bodies back if you are dead you idiot! You can't save poor girls like Nina if your head is splattered across the concrete, you idiot. Not if you are six foot under. I won't let you throw that chance away. If you ever do something like you did today again, I'll never forgive you!"

It stayed silent between the two brothers for a moment. Then they heard a tiny crack and screech. They looked around them for the source, the sound remaining bewildering. Then a louder screech invaded their hearing, interrupting any further argument. After a long pause, Al's arm fell off, hitting the ground with a heavy thud, the hand on it still grasping Ed's shirt tightly in its grasp. Ed grabbed the wrist of the now unattached arm and pulled it away from him.

He stared down at the metal limb as a small bead of sweat appeared on his forehead. "Um…wow… can't say I was expecting that."

"Oh no!" Alphonse yelled, "That's great! Just great! My right arm came off too." He gazed at Ed's face, which had a slight flush of nervousness painted on it. "You idiot!" Ed cringed. He now hated that word with a passion.

Ed heaved a huge sigh, and then chuckled. "We're a real mess aren't we Al? I bet we look really uncool right now."

"Yes but at least you are alive," they heard a familiar voice say. They turned to the entrance of the alley to see Riza and Havoc walking toward them. When she arrived at the two, she kneeled beside Ed. "You've both survived. This incident will only make you stronger in the long run. She took off her jacket and draped it over Ed's shoulders.

"Wait! You can't give me this. What if you get wet? This isn't necessary," he protested, upon being given the jacket. Despite her being perfectly capable of taking care of herself, he couldn't help but be a bit protective over her.

"I'll be fine Edward. I like the rain." She was touched that he would be concerned for her when the two of them were in such deplorable condition.

"Are you sure? You might catch a cold," Edward replied.

A small laugh escaped her, "You don't get sick from the cold Edward. Surely you know that," she teased.

A blush appeared on Ed's face and he looked at the ground. He laughed. "Yeah, I know. Thanks Lieutenant Hawkeye."

Havoc walked over to kneel beside Al. "You okay?" he questioned.

"Been better," Al said, a bit of humor sounding in his voice.

Havoc rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "Well, let's get you guys out of the rain. Chance of rust, right?"

He put Al's arm over his shoulder as Riza helped Edward stand. "Oh crap! Everyone saw the way Al is!" Ed exclaimed.

"Don't worry," Riza reassured him. "They won't say a thing. Everyone that came here is very loyal to the colonel and he's in charge of catching Scar. They won't talk to anyone else but him. She then directed her gaze to the two soldiers behind her. "Gather the pieces of armor and take them to Colonel Mustang's office immediately. I know I don't have to tell you to keep what you see a secret."

"Yes Ma'am!" the two soldiers said and began gathering the pieces.

----

Roy smiled as he watched Riza act so motherly to the two boys. If he and Riza ever had children then they would be the luckiest kids in the world.

"She'd make a really good mother, don't you think?" Maes teased. "You could help her get even better by giving her some babies. A cute little girl like Elecia would be the ideal thing for you two!"

Roy turned his head and glared at his friend, not showing the nervousness that resulted because of Maes's words. "Let's focus on the task at hand, shall we?"

Maes made a mental note that Roy didn't say it wasn't a good idea. He would use that to tease the man at a later date. For now, he had other matters to handle. He turned his gaze to Alphonse, staring for a long moment at the empty armor. It was amazing that a soul was attached to the armor and that the soul was a young man. However, it was also extremely heartbreaking, like something out of a drama in the theaters. "This really is an all around show of freakish mutants," Maes said. "I feel like this is some sort of comic book rather than real life."

"Sorry for keeping Al's circumstances from you. I thought it was for the best."

Maes chuckled slightly. "I won't bother telling the higher ups, so no worries. Besides, it would be very bothersome if the higher ups found out."

"They'd probably cart him off to a lab somewhere. I can't let that happen."

"Yeah, well I didn't see anything out of the ordinary about the young man," Maes said, indicating that he wasn't going to reveal the secret about Al. Of course, Roy already knew he wouldn't.

Roy nodded. "At least they'll get a moment's rest."

"Yes, but you can't rest yet," Maes said. "You've got a very dangerous man after you and he's Ishbalian. Just when we think things can't get any worse, they do. Do you attract psychos or something?"

"You know you just insulted yourself in that line right?" Roy said, causing Maes to laugh. Roy watched as Havoc put Al into the car. "Do what you need to do here and meet me back at the office. We will have a meeting there to discuss a further course of action."

Will do," Maes said. He gave a nonchalant salute and walked away.

The drive back to headquarters was quiet, everyone much too weary to speak at the moment. It was a time of reflection. The reactions were typical of soldiers that were coming back from a dangerous mission. Everyone in the car was relieved that the fight was over and extremely thankful no one was killed during the engagement. The result could have been much worse than how it turned out. Despite the "positive" outcome of the fight, there was still a curtain of fear and dread ghosting over their emotions. Scar had gotten away, and they all feared that he would kill many more alchemists before he was caught and killed. There was no doubt that if Scar were caught alive his penalty for his actions would be death.

Riza moved her gaze from staring at her lap, to look at Roy. She couldn't begin to express how thankful she was that he was safe in the car instead of laying dead on the pavement. She pushed back the desire to throw her arms around him and cry with relief. She felt like such a damsel when she got those urges, but reasoned that it was a normal reaction for a wife whose husband came so close to death. She shoved the event to the back of her mind. The most important thing now was keeping Roy safe from Scar. If she let the narrow escape hinder her, she'd do more harm than good.

By the time they arrived back at headquarters, the rain was coming down so rapidly that it sounded more like horse hooves on the ground than raindrops hitting it. It was coming down in wave after wave of precipitation and visibility was almost zero. They got out of the car quickly, squint their eyes against the water that was now blowing in their direction thanks to the gusts of wind, and rushed up the steps to the door, wary not to fall on the slick concrete.

The group released a collective sigh of relief as the warm air inside headquarters spread over their chilled bodies.

"Damn," Havoc said, "This place is close to the desert, you'd think it would be much warmer!" He took the wet cigarette out of his mouth and threw it in a nearby trashcan. He then shuttered

If East City was anything like the desert then it wouldn't be raining the way it is," Fuery said, while taking off his coat and shaking the water off it.

"Damn that liquid death…" Roy said, while running a hand through his wet hair. He slowly removed his soaked gloves and began to ring them out. He looked up when he felt people staring at him. "What?"

"Liquid death?" Breda questioned.

They all stayed silent before turning to look at Fullmetal when he didn't crack a joke at Roy's expense. The young man tensed up.

"What? Why are all of you looking at me?"

You aren't going to crack a joke?"

"I don't have anything right now. I'll take a…," he grinned mischievously as something came to him, "I'll take a rain…check."

Everyone groaned at the bad joke.

"Let's just go get a warm shower and dried off," Roy said. "By the time we do that, Maes and Armstrong should be back."

Roy and Havoc carried Al to the locker room and the others followed behind them. Thankfully, much of headquarters was either in the other building or out helping Hughes, so the halls were void of people and the secret about Al's armor being empty was safe for now. When they got to area where the locker rooms branched off, she turned right and departed from the group who went into the opposite direction.

---

Riza loathed the fact that she had to step out of the warm shower. The comfortable spray felt so good on her cold skin that she wished she could knit a sweater with the warm droplets and wear it. She felt herself chuckle at the ridiculous thought. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and moved her face upward so that the water would hit directly onto it, heating up her still cool cheeks. After staying like that for a moment, she reached for the faucets and forced herself to twist the handles, putting an end to the rain of water coming from the showerhead. She grabbed the towel she had hanging over the stall door, dried her face then the rest of her body before wrapping the towel around her torso. She left the stall and walked to her locker to get her spare uniform. She dried her hair and then pinned it up before donning her clothing.

She put her wet uniform in a bag and stuck it in her locker. She would drop it off at the cleaners after work. She put the other items back in the locker before shutting it and leaving the locker room. She didn't know if the others had returned to the office yet, but if she had to hazard a guess, her guess would be absolutely not. They probably didn't have the restraint she possessed to leave the warm shower.

She made her way back to the office, careful to avoid a route where she would likely make contract with the fuehrer again. The last thing she wanted to see him and have to take another shower. When he looked at her, it literally felt like he was injecting dirt into each and every pour in her skin and spreading a stench all over the outside of her body. She felt like she was a walking, living, breathing pile of trash. She withheld a shudder at the thoughts and forced her mind to block out those events and replace them with the recent events. It wasn't the time for her to think about herself. The thing she needed to focus on the most was protecting her husband. She had to make sure that he didn't pull anymore stupid stunts like he did with Scar.

Riza opened the door to the office and, as expected, none of the men was present. The right side of her lips quirked upward for a moment in amusement at her correct guess. She knew the men much too well. After flipping on the light, she began gathering each coffee mug off the desks of the respective men, placing them on a tray that sat on the table next to the filing cabinet. She picked up the tray carefully and left the office. She sat the tray on a table out in the hallway and shut the office door before once again grabbing the tray and carrying it toward the break room.

When she arrived at her destination, she walked over to the sink and sat the tray down beside it. She ran warm water into the sink and then poured some soap into it. After discarding her jacket on a nearby chair, she began washing each mug out with very hot water and, after rinsing it well, sitting it back on the tray. She put her entire focus on the menial task, forcing her mind to stay away from any serious topics drifting around in her head like the tiny bubbles ascending up from the soap in the sink. She fished around in the cabinet for the spare mugs that were often kept there for guests, and removed a few. After washing and rinsing those, she put them on the tray with the others, and then released the water from the sink.

She walked over to the large coffee urn and lifted the lid. She removed the filter, emptied it, washed it, and then sat on the counter while she searched through the cabinets for the large can of coffee she knew was there. When she found it, she sat it beside the filter.

She grabbed the pitcher sitting on the counter, filled it full of water, and moved to pour it into the urn until it was empty. She kept filling it until the level reached 60 cups. When the other soldiers came back, they might appreciate the warmth of a cup of coffee.

She turned to fill the filter, but before she could do so, she sneezed roughly, causing her to drop the plastic ewer in her hands in favor of covering her nose and mouth. She sniffed and went to wash her hands before picking up the ewer and washing it out. She filled the filter with several scoops of coffee and returned it to the urn. Flicking the switch on the coffee maker, she waited until she heard the recognizable sound that indicated the coffee was brewing, before going over to the couch and sitting down.

Another sneeze left her and she removed her handkerchief to wipe her nose. She returned it to her pockets then leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She took a huge breath and when she released it, cringed at the sharp pain she felt in her neck. She grimaced and reached up to rub it. Surely she wasn't getting sick… she didn't get sick. Hell, it was almost as if she wasn't allowed to get sick. Today's disaster had been averted and she had to keep her guard up concerning Roy until Scar was caught or killed. That meant her health staying as stable as possible.

She stood and walked over to the sink to get a glass of water. She sighed with relief as the cool liquid washed down her throat, then shuttered when a cold chill ran through her body. Riza dismissed it as just a result of the water, it wasn't anything to… she coughed, dropping the glass in her hands. It hit the ground and shattered into shards as another cough wracked her body. She leaned over the sink, her eyes watering as the coughs continued in a long chain.

She felt a hand on her back and jerked her head up, her eyes narrowed at the person who had ventured to touch her. She relaxed when she saw that it was Maes. His hair was still wet but he'd clearly already changed out of his wet uniform. His eyebrows were furrowed in concern and his eyes held a look of inquiry.

"Are you okay?"

Riza nodded and Maes removed his hand from her back. "You gave Edward your coat, got cold, and now you have a cold."

Riza sighed and rolled her eyes. "No, that isn't the reason."

"You are denying that you are sick when the evidence says otherwise."

"I never denied I was getting sick. I mean giving Edward my coat isn't the reason I'm catching a small cold. You don't get a cold from the cold. Anyway, the typical cold incubation period is two to five days. If you want a minimum, it could be as little as ten hours. Hence, I most likely didn't get it today."

"Why do you know this stuff," Maes questioned, surprised that she would know such facts.

"It pays to know a bit of everything," Riza said, and started to bend down to pick up the shards of glass. She swayed a bit on her feet and Maes grabbed her shoulders to steady her. "You need to go sit down. Let me clean this up."

"That's not-"

"Don't make me order it," he said with a tinge of affection and humor inflecting his voice.

Riza stared into his green eyes for a moment and nodded before walking over to sit on the couch. She leaned forward and, propping her elbows on her knees, rested her head in her hands. She heard the slight clinks of the shards against each other as Maes picked them up, and a bigger clink as he threw them into the bin. She felt the couch beside her dip with extra weight but didn't move.

"Maybe you should go home and try to get some rest," he said. "You seem exhausted."

Riza shook her head. "I'll be fine, Sir." She took a deep breath and sat up straight. "I can't leave when things are the way they are. I have to do my job."

"You won't be very useful if you faint," Maes said bluntly.

She turned to glare at him, not caring that he was of higher rank than she was, "I don't faint. Ever."

Maes sighed. "Fine, but you should still go home and rest. I'm sure Roy won't mind if you do that."

"No, Sir. I have a duty as a bodyguard to protect him no matter what. He almost di…" she trailed off when she realized that the chills going through her was so much more than a slight cold she got. She almost lost him. She knew that out on the field, but didn't have time to process it fully. God, he almost died. Just a few inches… if she'd been too lat…

"Other people can protect Roy until you get better," Maes said.

"They did a brilliant job out there today didn't they?" she snapped, anger suddenly mixing in with her fearful realization.

"Lieutenant…it was close, but you got there in time."

"What…" her voice caught as she tried to speak, as if she was too nervous to talk."What if I hadn't? What if he would have died today?"

Maes' eyes widened. Riza was scared to death. He knew she wouldn't be showing such an emotion to him unless it was extremely dominate over her entire body. He stood and walked over to the door, shutting and locking it before moving over to sit back down beside her. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're scared?"

Riza's eyes shot open and she pulled away from his hand. "No, no, I 'm fine."

"No you aren't. I know many things about women. You are shivering, crying, and…"

"I am not crying!" she shouted. She turned to look at Maes, her eyes and the small streams of salt-filled liquid running down her cheeks, exposing her lies.

"Riz…Lieutenant. Just let it go… You can't keep this bottled up. I swear whatever you have to say or do won't leave this room. Please take my word on that."

Riza cursed lowly, using the Xingese that Roy taught her and Amestrian blasphemes. She stood and walked over to the window. "He's such a fucking idiot," Riza said. "The biggest idiot I've ever known."

"Who? Roy?"

"Yes…Damn it! Why didn't he think about what would happen if he died!"

Maes nodded and walked over to stand beside her. "Roy doesn't exactly think when people are in danger."

"It's annoying."

"He's lucky that he has you around. However, I think you may get an earful from him later about your actions. You've scared him to death too you know?"

"What happens to me is of no consequence," she said, her voice hiccupping as more tears emerged from her eyes.

"You don't honestly believe that do you? You are the most valuable member in Roy's team. You are Roy's biggest weakness."

Riza sniffed, feeling ashamed that she was crying in front of someone other than Roy. She wiped her tears away with the palm of her hands and took out her handkerchief to blow her nose. "That makes me feel better," she said sarcastically.

"It's true you are a weakness but you're his strength too. You can deny it all you want but you are the one that keeps him going. The only one that he truly trusts with everything he knows."

"You talk as if you don't exist. Last time I checked he trusted you."

"You jealous?" he asked.

"No."

There was a short pause between them, with only Riza's occasional sniff and the sound of the coffee urn percolating disturbing the silence. Finally Maes spoke.

"He would never trust me as much as he does you. If something unfortunate happened and I died, I think he'd be sad. He'd blame himself if something happened to me due to his goals. Probably get drunk pretty often. Then, he'd move on. Just as I'd move on if something happened to him. Though it would be the most difficult thing I could ever do."

"He'd be devastated if something happened to you. You are his best friend."

"Sure, okay. I would go with temporarily devastated though. Now if that happened to you, if you died… God, I can't even fathom dealing with him if you were killed. He would be inconsolable and we'd be burying him not long after."

Riza's eyes widened and she turned to Maes. "You can't let that happen. If anything happens to me, you have to promise to keep him going, straight up to the top. Not just for him but for me as well. For everyone that feels guilt over Ishbal and so that massacres like that won't happen again."

Maes chuckled. "Alright, I'll promise that on one condition."

"That is?"

"You do the same. If anything happens to me, don't let him wallow in any self-blame. Remind him of what he has to do, take away his alchemy notes, and watch him like a hawk. No pun intended. You know what he'd be tempted to try. He wanted to do that after Ishbal. I had to punch him."

Riza laughed half-heartedly. "Yeah, he told me. I won't let him do anything like human transmutation. I'll shoot him before I'd allow him to do that."

"Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of keeping him alive in the first place?"

"I can shoot a non-vital area," Riza said.

Maes laughed and extended his hand. "Let's shake on it. A promise that we will keep him alive no matter what."

Riza looked at his hand then took it firmly in a shake. She then let go and turned back toward the window to look at the soaked city buildings. She felt Maes's eyes on her and suddenly felt extremely self-conscious under his gaze.

It had been a strange, emotional stabbing day. First, Maes sees her wedding rings and hints at quite a few things, most of them residing halfway into the realm of truth. Next, Roy almost is killed and she comes close to being killed saving him. Then, she, a woman that never ever gets sick, starts to get a cold. Oh, and let's not forget she had to go in cry in front of her husband's best friend, losing her ice queen status and proving that yes, she is human and gets scared; something she didn't want anyone to know. She had to display her terror over almost losing Roy.

At least there was some positivity tacked onto the day of negativity, she made a deal with Maes that guaranteed Roy would live on if one of them died. She trusted him to keep his word to her. Without a doubt, she'd be the one to die first. There was no way someone like Maes would die before someone like her. If there was a god, he wasn't so cruel to take out a loving man like Maes. Hell, she was sure that even Roy would pass away before Maes: hopefully of old age.

"I've told you this before Hawkeye," Maes said, breaking Riza out of her recollections of the most recent past events, "but I think I need to tell you again. You can trust me. I swear."

Riza turned her gaze to him and finally nodded. Against all odds, she finally trusted the man before her. "Don't tell Mustang?"

"No way, he'd blow a blood vessel if he found out what we talked about."

It stayed quiet and the coffee urn's brewing ended. "I should get that coffee to the office now."

"I'll help you out," Maes said. He moved over to unlock the door. Much to his surprise, when he opened it, Roy came with it, his key in the lock. He stumbled slightly then righted himself. After removing the key from the door, he looked at Maes and Riza, very surprised that both of them were present in the room.

"What are you two doing in here? More importantly, what are you two doing in here with the door locked?"

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	52. Not A War

**Best Kept Secret  
**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 52: Not a War**

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of FMA and gain no profit from this fiction. However I do own my idea and wrote this fic (obviously), so do not swipe.**

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**Not a War**

Maes had a hard time withholding the huge smile as he absorbed the tone that Roy used when he asked about why they were alone in the lounge with the door locked. Despite knowing that they wouldn't do anything wrong in there, especially with him and Riza being so dedicated to other people, Roy was still jealous over the scene he came upon. Maes smirked; it would be a good opportunity to tease Roy a bit.

"Oh…we were just having a little bit of stress relief," Maes said.

Roy's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before narrowing angrily, "What in the hell do you mean stress relief?"

Riza restrained the urge to roll her eyes and let Maes continue to goad Roy. If he honestly thought something was happening between Maes and her, then he deserved the moment of stress.

"I mean we were having a good…fu…functional beneficial conversation," he said. Maes laughed as Roy huffed and folded his arms. Riza hid a chuckle as she carried the tray of mugs to the table next to the coffee urn.

"You know, people could get the wrong idea about you two if they knew you were locked in here alone," Roy said, then walked over to the couch to sit down.

"People know us better than that." She felt a pain in her throat but ignored it in favor of speaking the rest of her sentences, "As do you. I don't appreciate any implications that I would do anything of any such relation with a coworker. Much less a married coworker."

She turned to look over her shoulder at Maes as he took his foot and closed the door to the room. "Now if anyone comes by they'll think there's a threesome going on," Maes joked.

Riza couldn't help but laugh, and then turned back to her task.

"So, what were you two talking about exactly?" Roy questioned, his tone still carrying a bit of jealousy.

"I don't see where that concerns you, Sir," Riza said as she filled the last mug full of coffee.

Roy stood. "I'm the commanding officer. Of course it concerns me when two subordinates are chatting about private matters during work hours."

"Then reprimand us for that, but you aren't at liberty to inquire what went on in the conversation," she said and picked up the tray. 'Are the other's done showering?"

"If not then they have probably drowned," Roy said.

Maes opened the door and then took the tray from the Lieutenant. "I'll take this to the office for you," he said and left the room.

Roy walked over to the door and closed it, causing Riza to raise an eyebrow.

"What were you talking about?" he asked, leaning against the wall.

"Jealous?"

"Yes," he admitted.

Riza was surprised. "Why?"

"Because… I don't know. . ."

"Then we have nothing to talk about." She grabbed some creamer and sugar off the counter and walked to the door. "Let's get to the office."

Roy smirked. "Fine, I won't push for the conversation but you lied about something."

"I did?"

"You said you didn't like the implications of you having relations with a coworker, especially a married one."

"Sir, I'm not feeling well, could you get to the point?"

"You are," he smirked, "You do almost every night. I'm a coworker after all."

"You catch the weirdest things in conversations, you know that? Now could you move so we can get back to the office? I really need some hot coffee."

Roy grinned, wrapped one arm around her waist, and pulled her to him. Her hands moved up quickly so that the creamer and sugar wouldn't be caught between them. He then smirked at her and lowered his lips onto hers.

She sighed and returned the kiss until he pulled away.

"I'll be there in a minute," he said, opening the door.

"Alright, Sir," she said and left the room.

Roy walked over to a chair and sat down, trying to squash a nagging feeling in his stomach. He knew that there was nothing going on between Maes and Riza, so he didn't understand exactly why it bothered him so much that they were in a locked room together. It was a strange tingling feeling in his stomach that made it feel like it was flopping in complete disorder like a fish out of water. It was stupid, he knew it was stupid, but ...he couldn't shake it. He couldn't brush off that something happened that he would not have liked. The strangest thing of all was that Riza was completely relaxed with him and Maes now. Even though she'd been around him all that time during Elecia's birth, various dinners, and so on, she'd always been extremely rigid and proper.

He hadn't realized he'd been thinking for very long until he heard Riza's voice, "Sir?" He looked at the door and saw his wife standing there looking at him with a concerned look. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he said, standing and walking toward her. "Are the men in the office?"

"Yes. Everyone is relaxing for now and drinking their coffee. I even managed to get Ed to drink some even though he doesn't care for it."

Roy chuckled. "Alright, let's go."

He started to walk past her but she grabbed his arm before he could. "You know better than to think something like that happened between Lieutenant Colonel Hughes and I, don't you?" Her voice was low, just in case someone might be eavesdropping in some way.

Roy grinned and nodded, the weight on his shoulders feeling a bit lighter upon hearing her speak those words. "I know," he replied, "Now, let's get to the office, Lieutenant."

--

When Roy and Riza walked into the office, everyone turned to them for a moment before returning their attentions back to their coffee and the silence. Roy walked over and sat down at his desk while Riza moved to sit beside Havoc. She picked up her coffee and took a sip, savoring the taste of it in her mouth.

"So now what?" Havoc questioned, breaking the silence of the room.

"I… I need some answers," Edward began, causing everyone to look at him. He tensed slightly but continued. "When you found out Scar was an Ishbalian," he tried to choose his words carefully, "Some of you got strange looks on your faces."

"Strange? What do you mean?" Havoc said.

"Not you," Edward said. "I didn't see the look on anyone in this room except Major Armstrong, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, Mustang and," Ed hesitated, "Lieutenant Hawkeye."

The four people he named shifted slightly and looked down at their coffee.

"Does it have to do with the Ishbalian war?" Ed finally asked after a long pause.

Roy locked his dark gaze onto Edward for a full minute, trying to structure his thoughts. He finally put down his mug and rested his elbows upon his desk. He intertwined his fingers and leaned forward. After waiting another minute, the office dead silent, he nodded. "Yes, Fullmetal, it does."

"It wasn't a war Edward," Riza said, her voice steady, but carrying a tone no one could identify.

Everyone turned their gazes to Riza. "What are you talking about? That's what it's called. The Ishbalian war."

"You've only heard the version that the government wants you to hear," Armstrong said.

"In a war, your enemy tends to put up a strong fight," she said, her voice breaking. It sounded like she was having a hard time because of the topic, but it really had been because her throat felt like sandpaper was rubbing against it. "You don't kill women and children and old men in a war." After finishing her words, she took a sip of her coffee, the warm liquid soothing her throat slightly.

"She's right," Maes said, leaning forward slightly, "It wasn't a war."

"The Ishbalians were a group of people from the East with their own way of life, their own culture, their own religion," Roy said. "They worshipped one god, known as Ishbala. The region had always been at odds with the central government of Amestris because of the religious differences, but it all really came to a head when an army officer shot an Ishbalian child by accident. After that, a chaotic civil war started. It started in the main city and then spread riot by riot through the entire east area. After several years of fighting, the army brought forth a new tactic in hopes of ending it. They brought the state alchemists in, at first for skirmishes, then for an all out genocide campaign."

"But Lieutenant Colonel Hughes and Lieutenant Hawkeye aren't alchemists," Al said.

"No, we aren't," Maes said. "Like the colonel said, the army had been fighting for years before they brought in the state alchemists to try and quell things."

"So you and Lieutenant Hawkeye were brought in before the alchemists were?"

"No," Riza said. "I arrived a bit later than the Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel. I was still in academy when they decided to send me there." She took another sip of her drink as another pain shot through her throat.

"You see Edward…" Roy sighed, "I don't really know why this matters." He was having a difficult time speaking about his past."

"Please, it's important," Al said.

Riza felt uneasy as she saw Roy run a hand through his hair, a sign he was stressed.

"I can't speak for the Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel," Riza began, "but I can't tell you about my experience."

"Hawkeye, you…" Roy trailed off, unsure of how to continue. He was extremely shocked that she was going to talk about her actions in the desert.

"The snipers were ordered to kill everything that moved if it wasn't an ally," she said. "I pulled the trigger on," she swallowed another drink of coffee, "anything that I was told was the enemy."

Maes stared at Riza, knowing how hard it was for her to reveal her actions to everyone in the room. "I worked for intelligence and personnel Edward," Maes said, "but that didn't stop them from sending me out to kill. If you were out there, no matter what you were, you had to be prepared to kill or be killed. You had to dirty your hands to survive."

Roy nodded. "After a while, they saw how good a combination of snipers, foot soldiers, and alchemists were, organized us into groups, and we annihilated the Ishbalians. That's why there is a certain demented sense of justice that one of the very last Ishbalians would want revenge on us."

"That's not justice," Edward said. "Whatever happened then is in the past. No matter what he does nothing will change it. He's involving innocent people for the sake of his revenge and candy coating it by acting self-righteous. Calling himself an instrument of god when really, he's no better than what you gu..." he trailed off when he realized what he was about to say.

"He's no better than what we are Edward. Go ahead. The four of us are under no allusion that we aren't murderers," Riza said, her voice fading out a bit. She lifted her hand to her throat and rubbed it. Everyone turned to look at her, concern etched on their faces. "I'm fine," she assured them.

"That's not what I meant. You couldn't help what you were forced to do."

"We're talking about a man who hates alchemy but uses that very same power to get revenge. Who we are very much alike, I loath to admit. Scar is totally insane and doesn't care what other people think about him. He's one of the most dangerous types of people. Frankly, he scares me," Maes said.

Roy sighed and Riza looked at him with concern. He stared at her for a moment, regrets of the past transiting through their gazes to each other. Finally, Roy tore his regard away from her and leaned his chin against his fist, closing his eyes. "We can't care what people think about us now either. We can't afford to die yet. That means next time we'll be just as ruthless as he's being." Roy's eyes suddenly opened and carried the look of determination within their depths. "We'll kill him the next time we meet him. Without hesitation."

Ed looked down at his lap, unused to hearing Mustang speak something so...dark.

Hughes heaved a huge sigh and stood. "Okay, on that wonderful happiness filled note, that's enough of this conversation." He bent rearward a bit and popped his back before walking over to stand in front of Ed. "So what are you going to do now?"

Ed looked up at him in surprise. "Well...I need to fix Al's body but I can't do that with just one arm."

Armstrong suddenly sprung up from his seat causing everyone, except Riza, to jump slightly. He began flexing his muscles, his coat falling off his shoulders, revealing that he was still bare-chested. "Creation follows destruction! I shall fix him up, nice and pretty!" he boomed.

"No thank you! I'm good!" Al said, obviously panicked. "It's relaxing being in parts sometimes!"

"Bonding soul to steel is not an easy task. Only Fullmetal can fix him right now. Go ahead and ask him."

"That's right," Ed said, "It's my burden. I'm the only one that knows how to bind his soul to the armor. But before I do anything, I need to get my other arm back."

Riza tilted her head to the side and lifted a hand to her chin. "Well this is an interesting situation. If the great Edward can't use his alchemy then he's just a..."

"Little brat with a grumpy ass attitude who swears a lot," Havoc provided and Riza nodded.

"An arrogant pipsqueak," Maes said, earning another nod from Riza.

"Useless, just useless." Roy commented. Riza withheld the urge to tease Roy that he was also useless at times, and had been that very day. However, she felt it would be better to rest her voice as much as possible.

"Sorry brother, I really don't know how to follow up on those comments. They pretty much hit the nail on the head," Al said.

Ed shot up from his chair and yelled, "You all are picking on me. Stop it!" He then sat back down roughly. "Anyway, I'm going to take some leave now and head back to my mechanic. Ed stared at Mustang. "You know the one, don't you?"

Riza tensed at the slight glare that Ed was giving Roy.

"How could I forget. You were sitting there in a wheelchair, with that same stump of an arm you have at this moment, resisting the urge to cry, Oh I'm going to pee my pants!" he said.

Riza stared at him oddly, her mouth formed into a small O. She knew that it was nothing like that and wondered if Roy's stress had caused him to display the random line of idiocy that he was spewing.

"You are probably going to need some protection," Maes said. "That's quite a trip. I would volunteer but since I'm part of the Fuehrer's escort, and we don't know when he's going to leave Eastern headquarters, I can't go."

"They just put me back in charge of East Headquarters so I've got to look after this place."

"And I can't go. I have to look after the Colonel." Riza said.

"You could send me but I don't know how much help I'd be against a fanatical alchemist serial killer," Havoc said, nonchalantly.

"Same goes for me!" the other men said.

"That settles it," Armstrong said with a twinkle in his eye. "Send me. I shall protect the boys on their quest for repairs and investigation!"

"Wait! We don't need an escort!"

"Really Edward, use common sense. What are you going to do if Scar shows up to attack you and you are missing that arm? Of course you are going to have a guard assigned to you. If not you'd be completely defenseless," Riza remarked. She used a lower tone to speak, and it felt much better than her normal speaking volume.

"Can't fight and you can't carry Al to safety either," Havoc said.

Al rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously.

"So it's decided!" Armstrong said, and zoomed toward Edward, their faces now about four inches apart. "You boys should listen to your elders!"

"Don't treat me like a kid! Al say something!"

Tears began streaming down Al's metal cheeks in curly waves of water. "This is the first time someone has called me a kid since I've been a suit of armor! Thank you!"

Ed nearly fell over at his brother's slight betrayal. "But...but..." Ed stammered.

"You know, if you still plan on making a fuss I could have you court-martialed for disobeying orders," Roy said, a devious look crossing his face.

"What! You dirty..."

"Now that we have everything settled time to pack up!" Armstrong picked up Al and walked out of the room. Edward stood, glared at Roy and left the room as well, mumbling to himself as he did so.

"I think I'll see them off later," Maes said.

"Give them a message," Roy said. "Tell him not to die on my watch. The brat is enough of a pain without all the paperwork."

Riza stood. "Sir, that's an inappropriate message," she said, trying to hold in a chuckle at his wording of said message.

Roy shrugged.

She gathered the empty mugs in the room and sat them on the tray. "I'm going to," she swallowed painfully and cringed, "take these back to the lounge," she said. The room spun slightly and she reasoned it was because she stood up so quickly.

"You okay?" Roy questioned.

"Yes Sir. I'm fine," she said. She picked up the tray and left the room.

Maes gave his signature nonchalant salute. "I'll relay your message to Ed," he said and left as well.

---

Maes walked quickly so that he could catch up with Riza, who was already a distance away. "Are Roy and Ed always like that?" he asked when he arrived at her side.

"You mean Edward and the colo...nel's ban...tering? Yeah, pretty much. It's like the collision of two stubbo…people." She cursed as her voice broke at different parts of her sentence.

Maes stared at her. "Your voice is getting bad too," he said, "I noticed that in the office when we were talking about Ishbal. Maybe you should go to the infirmary and get checked out."

"I'll be fine sir."

"Alright, I'm sure if it gets any worse Roy will order you to go," Maes said.

"Edward and the Colonel are a lot of alike," she said, continuing the conversation before Maes mentioned her condition. She lowered her voice this time so that her throat would hurt less and so her speaking wouldn't crack in intervals. "That means you should expect Edward to give you a colorful response if you give him that message from the Colonel."

Maes shoved his hands in his pockets and whistled a long steady sound. "I was going to tone down the smart ass in Roy's comment but now I think I'll give it to Ed full force. Just to see the reaction."

Riza nodded. "You'll see the similarities then."

Maes laughed and turned down the hall, "Talk to you later Lieutenant," he said.

"Yes Sir," she replied and watched as he walked down the hallway and out the door.

"No wonder he and Roy are such good friends," she mumbled and turned down the left hallway.

She made her way into the lounge and over to the countertop. She sat the tray down beside the sink, and grabbed the top trying to catch her breathing. It seemed like whatever illness she had was coming upon her vigorously. A small walk from the office to the lounge shouldn't have tired her out that much. She closed her eyes to relieve the burning for a moment until she finally caught her breath. Finally, she straightened her posture and then put the plug in the sink, intending to wash the mugs on the tray. She hated the thought of leaving dirty mugs sitting there when it was so easy to clean them and she had time. She turned on the water and placed the mugs in the sink.

She'd just removed her jacket and sat it on the counter when a familiar voice spoke. "Ah, Lieutenant Hawkeye, I wasn't expecting you here."

She turned toward the door and resisted the urge to narrow her eyes at the man standing there. Instead, she sprung into a salute.

"General Hakuro, Sir," she said with her normal voice. She pleaded mentally for her vocals not to break as she spoke to him.

"Has Mustang relegated your duties to that of a common secretary? Or would it be a maid, I don't see much of a difference if you really want to look at it."

She mustered up all the strength she had within her to keep from shooting Hakuro. Why was it that every male General she'd come across, other than her grandfather, were such pricks. Hakuro was a lesser prick than the late General Grand was, but he was now the front-runner in the category of biggest asshole in the military.

"It's good I suppose, that's really the only job a woman should do in the military."

Riza started to say something, even if it would get her reprimanded, but someone interrupted her.

"Now don't be jealous that you didn't find her as an aid first," the Fuehrer said, walking into the room.

Hakuro snapped into a formal salute, his body stiffening as if it had been treated with starch.

"At ease Lieutenant Hawkeye," the fuehrer said, and then turned to Hakuro. Riza lowered her arm and relaxed. "Lieutenant Hawkeye has been a valuable asset in the military for quite a while. During Ishbal, she was the first sniper to hit five hundred kills and she's certified in the use of every firearm the military uses. She's a marvelous soldier and does exactly as she's told," he emphasized the exactly in his sentence, the mere action sending dread through her body. "She has a spotless record and I suggest you recognize that and treat her properly."

"Yes, Sir."

"Now, apologize to the Lieutenant," he said, stepping out of the way so that Hakuro could see her.

"I am sorry for my rude comment Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"Do you accept that Lieutenant?" the fuehrer questioned.

"Yes Sir, apology accepted," she said.

The Fuehrer turned back to Hakuro once again. "I believe your office has to prepare to leave. I suggest you oversee that yourself."

"Yes Sir," Hakuro said and exited the room, leaving the fuehrer and Riza alone. Riza never thought she'd be so sorry to see the rude general leave. The room seemed like it grew a few degrees colder when it was just her and Bradley there. He glanced at her, the right side of his mouth quirking upward in a condescending grin. "Keep up the good work," he said, and left the room.

She shuttered and, for a second time, felt utterly filthy. He'd commended her killing, made Hakuro apologize, and once again, praised her work. There was something about the man that felt off; that felt so wrong on a genetic, human level. She went back to washing the mugs. Her eyes widened and she cursed when she saw that the water had overrun the sink, spilling down the wooden doors of the cabinet, and running onto the linoleum floors. She removed her jacket and sat it on the countertop away from the sink before reaching in and pulling the drain from the sink, releasing the cold water.

She grabbed a mop from the closet and began cleaning up, feeling more like a janitor than an officer. However, she made the mess and she wouldn't feel right if she left it there for the cleaning staff. She didn't understand why she was being so absent minded. Normally she would have turned off the water before jumping into her salute. Suddenly, she grew angry; Hakuro should have noticed that she had the water running. He probably got a good laugh at her expense and was probably laughing at this moment at her. If he wasn't cursing her that is. It wasn't lost on anyone how much Hakuro sucked up to the fuehrer in hopes of taking over someday. Riza bent over to ring out the mop and her world spun.

She tried to straighten but she couldn't find the strength. She felt herself fall into a pair of arms just as she began to topple over. She didn't recognize the smell of the person that caught her but the voice scared her. The fuehrer had returned for some reason. He was the one holding her...and she couldn't find the strength to pull away as she lost consciousness.

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**AN: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are much appreciated so please drop one if you have time. ^_^**


	53. Getting Riza Home

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 53: Getting Riza Home **

**Disclaimer: I down own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fiction but I do own my idea. **

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**Getting Riza Home**

The softness that Riza felt underneath her was unexpected against her sore body, but far from unwelcomed. Her muscles were aching and thumping with constant pains that hit her every few seconds. She could almost time each one of the aches as the pattern became familiar. An annoying heat was blanketing over her skin adorning her with a constant wave of hotness. Despite this, her hands were freezing and she moved slightly to twist them in with the fabric she felt under her, hoping that doing so would take away the chill. She felt something damp, most likely a cold compress, lying upon her forehead, slightly tempering the heat of the skin there.

She kept her eyes shut tightly, actually fearing opening the curtains that were her eyelids because she knew the powerful lights of the infirmary were likely shining down upon her. Not desiring a worse headache than what she'd already had, she opted to merely listen to her surroundings. At first, she heard herself coughing. After the violent expulsions ceased, she grew quiet and tried to pique her hearing. The more she focused the easier she could hear the tones and lilts of her husband's voice, along with that of the fuehrer's vocals.

Her stomach twisted further, adding to the discomfort of the already nauseated organ. Was it really the fuehrer that had caught her before she fell or was it merely the sickness that had brainwashed her into thinking it was him? Of course, the fuehrer wouldn't be there talking to Roy if he hadn't been the one. She groaned at her minds inability to logically reason in its current state. The most important thing wasn't who brought her there after all. It was if her husband was getting reprimanded by the fuehrer for her horrible conduct at work.

How could she have let herself get sick? It clearly wasn't something she'd just caught that very day. She ran through her head the different types of situations that she was in previously that would give her a cold. No, with the way her body was aching, her throat was burning, and her head was throbbing, this illness of hers was clearly the flu. If she'd been able to do so, she would have punched herself. She hadn't found the time to get the flu shot and it was very likely that her irresponsibility was the reason she was sick, and the reason her commanding officer was possibly getting reprimanded.

A moment later, she heard the door to the room open and shut, footsteps, and Havoc's voice speak.

"What did the fuehrer say to you?"

It was then that her body betrayed her once again. She tried, fought to stay awake, but her blasphemous physical condition decided to force her to drift off into sleep. It was a battle Riza knew she couldn't win and she just gave in to her exhaustion and the dark.

Roy walked over to the window to gaze out at the people leaving headquarters. "He just told me what happened."

"That's it?" Havoc questioned as if he'd expected more.

"Yeah," Roy said, "I apologized to him but he just waved it off. I can't figure him out." Roy raised his hand to his chin and leaned against the window frame. After a moment of silence, he spoke. "It's strange."

Havoc looked at him oddly, "What's strange."

Roy shook himself out of his deep thoughts, not realizing he spoke the two words aloud. "The fuehrer. The man is too friendly."

Havoc laughed, "Isn't being friendly a good thing? You can say a lot of people are too friendly, especially Lieutenant Colonel Hughes."

Roy nodded, a smile coming to his face. "Yes, Maes is too friendly. That loving, carefree attitude of his might get him killed someday," Roy said, then sighed. "In the case with the fuehrer, I find it hard to believe that his friendliness is sincere. Especially after the things he ordered in Ishbal. A foreboding aura encases him like a bubble. He's wearing a mask around everyone. If we could grab hold of it and peel it off, it would reveal a hideous demon with nothing but cruel intentions."

Roy turned toward Riza and frowned. He didn't like the fact that the fuehrer had gotten that close to his wife. He walked over to a chair beside her bed and pulled it closer to her.

"Isn't that why your goal is to become fuehrer? To get rid of any cruel intentions he may have? That's why we all are pushing you to the top," Havoc said, then turned his blue sights onto Hawkeye. "She works harder at it than any of us. She makes sure we all have what we need, like a mother would her children. It gets annoying sometimes but we all appreciate it. It's for that reason I think she's gotten sick and collapsed."

Roy turned his head to Havoc. "Havoc, may I be frank? I know I can trust you not to tell anyone what I'm about to say."

Havoc sat forward, resting his arms on his knees. "You know you can chief, what is it?"

"I have transfer forms in my top desk drawer under the drawer organizer."

Havoc's eyes widened, "What in the hell for?"

"There are times when I think about having her transferred out of my command and somewhere safe."

"Are you crazy? I don't know how many times Hawkeye has saved you from—"

"That's the exact reason why I have them," Roy cut in. "She puts so much into pushing me to the top that she forgets that she has wants and needs. She forgets about taking care of herself and instead takes care of all of us. Takes care of me."

"If you were to transfer her, she'd never speak to you again," Havoc said, "If she didn't shoot and kill you that is."

Roy chuckled bitterly and looked back at Hawkeye, who was clearly in deep slumber and likely not hearing a word of what he was speaking. If she had heard she'd probably already be up and yelling at him, despite her sickness. "I could never do it. I've taken that paperwork out so many times but never could even sit my pen on the form, much less sign my name to it. She's too valuable to let go." Roy meant that on both a professional and personal level. It was clear if he had her transferred that their marriage would, in effect, be over. That was something he'd never be able to deal with.

"Hawkeye is valuable to all of us chief," Havoc said. "One thing we all can say about her is that she's always needed. The office would be chaos without her around."

"Yes, that's true," Roy said, resisting the urge to reach up and stroke her face. It wouldn't do for Havoc to see such an affectionate gesture between them. Maes already knew a bit too much for safety, having Havoc knowing more than he did would put undo worry upon Riza and himself. Havoc was right on one point when regarding the office atmosphere. What the man didn't know was that without Riza around in his personal life, he'd probably already have killed himself. Even Maes knew that Riza was the reason he hadn't blown his brains out so far.

"You know, she's the kind of girl I would go for if she wasn't military. I even had a crush on her once," Havoc said, when he noted how affectionately Roy was looking at her. It wasn't lost on anyone that the two were close friends, whether they were more wasn't a topic that anyone chatted about. It was a no ask, no contemplate policy that every one in East Headquarters had adopted. However, that didn't stop him from wondering if he would get a jealous look from Mustang. Unfortunately, he didn't.

"Are you crazy," Roy questioned, squelching the green-eyed and possessive looks that threatened to appear upon his face and embed in his mannerisms. In all actuality he thought a man would be crazy not to have a bit of an attraction toward his wife, especially when she was in civilian clothing.

"Yeah, probably," Havoc said, honestly. "I actually found her very attractive and I liked her dedication to her job. However, it was clear from the get go that she would never be interested. She would never date a coworker after all."

"Yes, the fraternization laws take care of that," Roy said, chuckling slightly to himself. Riza obviously didn't' give a damn about the ridiculous rules that hung over their heads. Obviously, there was no way she would have married him if she had. Havoc was going to feel very awkward if he ever found out that they'd been married for so many years."

"Nah, we are in the same rank area as lieutenants," Havoc said.

"So?"

"It wouldn't apply to us unless she was a captain. Then favoritism would go into effect."

As soon as those words penetrated Roy's hearing, he found that for the first time he wished he was a lieutenant instead of a colonel. If he was he wouldn't have hesitated to shout about their relationship to the rest of the world. Sadly yet at the same time, thankfully, that wasn't the case. The secret of their marriage would have to continue until he was fuehrer. Maybe even past that time.

He sighed. "All of us need to start working harder so she doesn't have to do so much of it. When she gets better I'll also have a talk about her relaxing a bit more. She seems to be too uptight too often."

"Yeah, I'll talk to the others about it," Havoc said.

"And you guys stop it with the polls, contests, pranks and bets. It brings added stress on not only her, but me as well."

"Right," Havoc replied, a nervous laugh plaiting within the tone of his voice.

Roy stood and stretched. "Go get the car. We need to get her to her apartment."

"Her apartment? Don't you think she should stay here for tonight just in case she gets worse?"

Roy laughed. "This is Hawkeye we are talking about. I don't think she'd be very happy to wake up in an infirmary, with everyone knowing about her collapse. I'm sure she'll be thankful that the infirmary was as empty as it was."

"Sir, the fuehrer knows already. It can't get much higher up than that, and you said he seemed easy going about it."

"It's the reputation she tries to keep that will be questioned. The last thing she'd want is that inquired about. It would be embarrassing for her."

"If the fuehrer knows, then wouldn't everyone else eventually find out?"

"The fuehrer ordered the doctor not to speak about her being here for some reason. That's why find his kindness in this situation strange. He seemed really concerned about having her reputation in tact. I'll have to speak to her about that later to see if she knows the reason why."

"I can pull the car around to the back infirmary exit," Havoc said, "Can you get her down there or are you going to need help?"

Roy walked closer to Hawkeye. "I can manage fine. She's lighter than she looks. The uniform just makes her look bigger."

"You'd better not let her hear you say that. She might shoot you or worse. Remember when Ed and Al asked her how old she was? She's usually very friendly toward them but when they inquired about that she looked like she was going to maim them. "

"Yeah, you are right," Roy said with a nod of his head. "So that means that the comment I just made stays between you and me."

"Gotcha," Havoc said. He stood and made his way out of the room while filing away the comment in his mind just in case he needed good blackmail or revenge on his commanding officer.

--

Roy waited a few minutes so that Havoc would have time to get a car and bring it out to the back. He could have carried Riza down and waited on him but it was likely cold and damp down at the exit. She looked very comfortable on the soft bed covered with blankets and he wanted her to remain comfortable for as long as possible.

After ten minutes of waiting, he removed the covers from her body and bent down to easily scoop her up into his arms. Earlier, Fuery made sure her coat and other items were locked in her desk. That saved him a lot of trouble since he wouldn't have to worry about retrieving those and could make sure she got directly home.

Roy easily made his way to the back exit where Havoc was waiting to open the heavy emergency doors for him. He made sure that her face was tucked in at his neck so that the rain wouldn't hit it, before he walked outside. As he slowly made his way down the slick steps, Havoc rushed ahead to open the back car door. The rain was still pelting the earth but, thankfully, not at the same pace as it had been earlier that day.

When he finally arrived at the car, he carefully bent over and placed Riza in the vehicle before getting in himself. He removed his coat and slipped it onto her arms when he felt her shivering. She leaned against him, cuddling closer to his body. Though he should have pushed her away with Havoc being around, he just didn't have the heart to do so.

Havoc got into the driver's seat and shut the door. "So where does Hawkeye live?" he asked.

Roy was surprised at Havoc's question. "I thought you knew where she lived."

"No. It's true that I've known Hawkeye a while but I've never inquired about where she lived. No one ever has since the need to know never arose."

"She lives in the same building as I do," Roy said. He was relieved to hear that no one asked about her living circumstances. It made the fact they lived across from each other less known. "I think you know then, not to tell anyone about her place of residence."

"Yeah, I don't' want to get shot. I have a feeling Hawkeye likes her privacy all too well," Havoc replied.

He drove through the gates of headquarters and easily navigated his way through the winding and slick streets to the proper apartment building. He pulled in front of the doors, got out of the car, and opened the door for Roy. "Do you need any help carrying her up?"

"No," Roy said, getting out of the car with Riza already in his arms. "I'll be fine Havoc. Thanks for the help."

"Don't mention it chief," Havoc said. "I'm heading back to the office before I head home. I'll fill out a sick leave form on her so that all you'll have to do is sign off on it. She'll probably be off work for about three days if she has the strain of flu that is going around."

Roy raised an eyebrow at him, questioning the gesture.

"We did say we were going to work harder right?" Havoc said, noticing the look.

"That we did. You do that Havoc and I'll be there on time in the morning."

"Right Chief," he said.

Roy adjusted Riza in his arms and she stirred, "Wha..."

"It's nothing Hawkeye, you go back to sleep," Roy whispered to her. He felt her body relax instantly after he'd spoken and she made no more noises. Havoc shut the car door and moved to open the one to the building so that Roy could carry her inside.

"You sure you don't need help?" Havoc asked again.

"I'm sure," Roy said, "thanks." He made his way down the hallway, praying that the normally out of order elevator was fixed.

--

Roy was extremely thankful that the elevator was in working order, as he stepped into the lift. Riza wasn't heavy at all but it still would have been very difficult to make his way up the several flights of stairs he had to ascend to make it to their floor. He pressed the button to their floor and the doors shut with a disturbing clang.

As the elevator began its ascent, Roy began questioning his judgment about taking the lift over the stairs, despite their potential to thoroughly exhaust him. He smelled the unwelcomed smell of oil and a scent of smoke the longer they rode. A tinge of fear shot through him but it was quickly replaced with relief when the elevator floor indicator reached the proper number and the doors opened, shuttering and screeching as they did so.

He quickly walked out of the elevator and made his way to his apartment. He had the softer bed and the warmer residence so it would be much better if she stayed there. He sat her on her feet, keeping one arm around her shoulders as he dug into his pocket for the key. After successfully finding it and opening the door, he picked her up once again, carried her inside, and made his way to his bedroom after closing the door back with a hit from the bottom of his foot.

Hayate looked up from his place on the couch and barked once before silencing when he saw Riza in Roy's arms. He tilted his head to the side and watched as Roy walked by him and into the bedroom. He scampered off the couch shortly after and stopped at the door to the bedroom to watch the happenings.

The bedroom was extremely chilly and an involuntary shiver left Roy's body as he made his way over to his bed. He rested her on what they'd always considered her side, and walked over to the closet to get her something warm to sleep in. He removed a pair of flannel pajamas off of a shelf and then went back over to her still sleeping body.

He sat down on the bed and pulled her into a sitting position. After removing the coat and her jacket, he pulled the tight brown shirt over her head and tossed it onto a nearby chair. He leaned her against his body as his hands moved around to the clasp on her bra. She'd often told him how lucky men were to not have to wear the torture devices. She complained on how it had to have been a man to invent them because women wouldn't put each other through such aggravation. What she didn't understand was that it was annoying for men to have to remove the things as well. He let out a small cry of triumph when the contraption loosened, and he tossed it to join her jacket and shirt on the chair. It wasn't until he had the flannel pajama shirt buttoned up on her that he realized he grabbed his own shirt instead of hers. He couldn't help but laugh at how the shirt seemed to make her body shrink exponentially.

He moved to unbutton it so that he could get her own night clothing, but was stopped when she cuddled close to him, seemingly basking in the new warmer apparel. Deciding to leave it on her, he unbuttoned her pants, slipped them off and threw them on the chair with her other garments. Picking up his pajama pants, he threw them haphazardly into the closet. He moved to get her own pajama bottoms for her to wear, but when he turned back to face her, the idea of putting them on her was negated. She was resting in a fetal position, the shirt not even covering any of her legs. He walked over to her and lifted her slightly and pulled down the shirt so that it hung down to the middle of her thighs. He moved her so that her head was resting on a pillow, before covering her with the thick blankets.

A round of coughs left her body and she groaned miserably as she snuggled deeper into the pillows and blankets. He reached around to the back of her head and loosened the clip, letting her tresses fall from the confinement and stress that the hair clasp brought upon them.

After he was satisfied that Riza was comfortable, he walked over to the closet and changed out of his uniform before going to the fireplace to start a fire. After he had the flames going at their optimum strength and felt the room heat up, he turned toward the door to see Hayate sitting there quietly. He walked over to the dog and petted him on top of the head. "She's sick boy. Come on, I'll get you some dinner."

Hayate made no noise as he followed Roy into the kitchen. After feeding the dog, Roy checked the cupboards and fridge for the ingredients he had in mind for what he was going to fix for Riza. He walked over to the phone situated on a table beside the door, picked it up and dialed a number. Riza would need something warm to eat a bit later and what was better during the flu than chicken noodle soup. In his lifetime there was only one person that seemed to make it perfectly.

He dialed his mother's number and waited for someone to pick up the phone. While no one in his family knew that he and Riza were married, they did know there was more than just a friendship between them. Christmas knew a bit more than his "sisters" did. She knew they were in a serious relationship, but she didn't know the full extent to which they went. It wasn't unusual for him to call her for help regarding Riza or even for Riza to call her if she needed something. Of course, that rarely, if ever, happened. Riza preferred handling things herself and didn't want to be a bother. Regardless, the fact was that Christmas was truly a godsend and it was too bad she was now all the way in Central.

Roy waited for about six rings before someone finally picked up the phone. The long wait wasn't unusual since by now the bar would be humming with life. "Hello, Christmas's bar, where it's Christmas every day. How may I help you?" Roy recognized the voice instantly as belonging to his youngest sister.

"Riri, I need to speak to Christmas," he said.

"Who is this?" she asked.

Roy sighed and shook his head. "It's Roy."

"Oh! Hi Roy! How are you?"

"I'm fine," he said, "Could you put Christmas on, it's important."

Riri huffed. "Geeze, you could at least great me properly first!"

Roy sighed. "Hello Riri, how are you? What's new?"

"Oh! How nice of you to ask! I got a new pair of shoes today! They are pink wit…"

"Riri!" Roy yelled, "Call for Christmas!"

"Fine," she said in a tone that told Roy that she was wearing her pouting expression. "Christmas! Brother M is on the phone!" She screeched as loudly as she could.

"Do you think they heard you in Xing, Riri?" he asked.

"So why do you need to talk to mom anyway," she asked, obviously ignoring his smartass comment about her vocal volume.

"I need to know how to make homemade chicken soup."

"Oh! I know how to make that!" she said excitedly.

"Make what?" Roy heard his other sister, Jami, ask.

"Roy wants to know how to make chicken noodle soup," Riri said. "Okay, here's what you do. You need chicken and noodles."

"Yes, I know that," Roy said, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

"I wasn't finished," Riri scolded.

"Fine then, go on." He knew that he would end up becoming frustrated at her but let her continue anyway. There was no use trying to silence her.

"Then you put them together!" she exclaimed happily.

Roy groaned out of frustration.

"Oh, how silly of me!" Riri's voice took on a tone that sounded like the worst thing in the world had happened. "I forgot something."  
"Ya think?" Roy asked.

"Yes, you have to put them in water! Since chicken noodle soup is salty, I'm sure salt water would be th..."

"Give me the phone," Jami said, taking it from her sister.

"Roy, listen to me. Chicken noodle soup is easy to make."

"Okay," he said.

"Go to the store," she started.

"I'm pretty sure I have the stuff here to make it," Roy said.

"Okay then. Well get a pot, take your can opener, open the can and pour it in the pot. Then it takes..."

"I meant homemade Jami!" he snapped, growing increasingly frustrated.

"Oh I see," she said. Sorry can't help you there. Stupid Roy, you know I can't make anything homemade."

"Just shut up until Christmas gets there, okay?" He groaned.  
"Are you giving Roy a headache again?" He heard Christmas say and thanked whatever higher power that possibly might exist that she'd arrived when she did.

"What do you need Roy boy?" she said as she took the phone away from Jami.

"I'm so glad I don't live there anymore. I don't think my nerves could take it," he said.

Christmas chuckled.

"Roy needs to know how to make chicken noodle soup," Riri said.

"Oh I see," Christmas said, "Why do you want to make that? It doesn't' seem the type of thing you'd suddenly crave when you can have Riza's beef stew."

"Riza's sick and I want to make her some."

"Well do you have chicken and noodles?"

"Yes," Roy said. "I'm pretty sure I have everything here. If I don't, Riza probably has some stuff in her apartment. I just need to know how to put it all together properly."

"Alright then," she said. Christmas started giving Roy the instructions but paused in the middle of her talking. "Are you writing this down?" she asked.  
"Don't need to, I remember stuff like this."  
"Get a piece of paper and a pen," she said roughly. "You men always manage to screw up the simple stuff even when you say you know it."

Roy didn't move but paused for a moment to pretend he was getting what he needed.

"Okay."

"I mean it boy! Go get a piece of paper and pen right now," she snapped.

He muttered some obscenities under his breath and did as she told him. He could never convince her that he never forgot instructions after he heard them once.

He began writing everything down in quick Xingese script instead of Amestrian, his penmanship being better in that writing system.

"You got everything?"

"Yes," he said.

"Then repeat it back to me," she said.

Roy did as she told him, rolling his eyes as he repeated everything she said without looking at the pad he wrote it on.

"Next time don't roll your eyes at me when you read things back. Anyway, you got it. Wish Riza well for me will you?"

"I will, thanks," he said and hung up the phone. He laughed at the simple instructions that she insisted he write down and tossed it on the table. He began to go into the kitchen but the phone rang. "Hello."

"Take the notepad with you Roy," he heard Christmas say then hang up.

Roy stared at the receiver in his hand for a moment in shock, before sitting it back on its base. "How in the hell does she do that?"

**---**

Riza smiled gently and cuddled into the warmth of the soft bed she was lying upon. Her body was slowly awakening from its sleep thanks to the very different environment in which it found itself residing. She turned to lay on her other side, her body popping as she did so, and Roy's smell suddenly hit her senses, relaxing her. She cuddled closer to the scent and then realized where she could possibly be. Opening her eyes, she found that she was in the bedroom in Roy's apartment, nestled comfortably among the thick comforters and pillows on the large canopy bed.

She forced her body to sit up, the room reeling because of the actions. She reached up to feel her forehead and felt a bit of sweat upon her skin there. Her eyes roamed around the room, making sure that she was where she thought she was and not hallucinating thanks to the fever. When satisfied she was completely safe and truly in Roy's apartment, her gaze drifted to look over at the fireplace. The fire within it was devouring the tinder as if it was a starving monster of flames. The wood was cracking, sending a warm flickering glow through the darkly painted room

She found herself becoming lost in the flames, studying the various shades of oranges and reds moving and licking at the wood and combining with each other to become other shades or fade lighter. When she was living with her father, after having the tattoo put on her back, she grew to hate building fires. She hated the pain that they caused people. That the secrets to creating them caused her.

Then Roy came along, she gave him the secrets, and once again, caused pain using them. But now he was trying to use them for good. Now fire reminded her that they were working toward something that would be beneficial to the entire country. Now the smell of ash and soot and smoke brought Roy to her mind and relaxed her more than any other scent in existence. The warmth of the hearth reminded Riza of the way she felt when Roy held her in his arms and kissed her. Fire was destructive but when coupled with Roy Mustang, it could also rebuild, create, and bring happiness.

--

Roy took a dipper of chicken soup out of the pot and put it in a bowl before studying the food and taking a big whiff of the steam. A smile came to his lips and he cried inwardly in triumph over the delicious smell. He picked up the spoon, scooped up some of the soup, and tasted it, joy washing through him as it tasted as good as it smelled. It was just like the soup Christmas used to give to him and the girls when they got sick.

He grabbed another bowl and scooped the soup into it, the steam wafting off the broth and vegetables in waves of heat. After slicing off a piece of very soft bread, he sat it all on a tray and carried it to the bedroom. As much as he hated to wake Riza up from her sleeping, she needed to get something hot in her body. He was very surprised when she was already sitting up. She was staring into the flames as if hypnotized by their brilliant glow and heat.

"Riza? You okay?" he asked.

* * *

**AN: The reason I left off here is because of a tiny problem I have with my next chapter. It is very similar (completely unintentional) to two oneshots that a friend of mine put upon here. I wrote the chapter before she posted her oneshots but she had no idea about the chapter (don't know if she reads this story or not) and I had no idea about her fics. There's no issue at all regarding it. I feel like I have to decide if I want to use the chapter or scrap those it in favor of something else. I hope you like a bit of the comic relief in this and please drop a review my way. They are much appreciated. **


	54. Flu Equals Useless

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 54: Flu Equals Useless **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fiction. If I did I wouldn't owe so much in student loans. . .**

**AN: ****My desktop recently got quite a few nasty trojans. I tried to remove them but the system crashed. I lost a lot of the work I did (3 chapters of BKS, all of Family Dynamics, the next two chapters of Broken Wings, and Vacuous Heart of Blood, all the requests fics I was done with, four royai multichapter fics that were completed, and four original much have to start fresh with destructive recovery on my that its back in running order (and I purchased an external hard drive) I can start updating more again. Also had a thirty page paper to do which has been turned in. All and all a busy and bad week. Anyway, please enjoy the chapter.  
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**Flu Equals Useless **

When Riza turned her head to look at Roy, he felt pity wash over him as he saw exactly how sickly she looked. Her skin was painted with the typical sallow whiteness and accented with the conventional shades of red on her cheeks and forehead. Even though she had just awoken, her eyes possessed the quality similar to that of eyes that hadn't acquired much sleep in several days. Her hair was ruffled, with some of the smaller tresses sticking out in various directions. The pajama shirt was failing in its duty to cover her body, the neckline maneuvering to the left and straying down her arm to divulge the smooth skin of her shoulder.

"How did I get here?" Her voice was rough and jerked and faded out as if it was a scratched record playing instead of her speaking. She cringed after she spoke and lifted her hand to rub the front of her neck.

"The fuehrer carried you to the infirmary. I brought you here, obviously," Roy said, leaving out the part about Havoc being the one to drive them home. He knew she would probably assume that anyway. He walked over to the bedside table and sat the tray of food down on the brown wood.

"The fuehrer?" Her voice was low and cracked under the stress of the yell, but the shock could be heard within the sentence.

"Yeah, you collapsed in the lounge and he caught you before you hit the ground," he said.

Riza closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her mind bringing forth a vague memory of her time in the infirmary. She opened her eyes and nodded. "I remember hearing you talking to him before I dozed back off in the infirmary, but I couldn't make out what you two were saying. I still don't remember anything about him catching me."

She looked down at the covers and saw that she was gripping them in her hands. She shuddered, knowing that the fuehrer had actually touched her. That man with the dark malevolent gaze had made physical contact with her. She shuddered again, and then hugged herself.

Roy furrowed his eyebrows in concern, a crease forming above the bridge of his nose because of the action. He sat down beside her and, after positioning the fallen shirt collar where it was supposed to be, wrapped his arm around her. "You cold? I can get you another blanket if you'd like."

Riza shook her head, "No, I want to take a bath." She moved to get up from the bed, pulling away from his arms. As soon as she was on her feet, the room started spinning and she sat back down. "Ugh."

"Dizzy?"

She glared at him for asking an obvious question but it faded when she saw how concerned he was. His mind wasn't exactly working right since his thoughts were obviously enlaced with the worry for her health. "Unless you suddenly used alchemy to turn our bedroom into a carousel, then yes."

Roy smiled at her and stood, "You get back into bed and I'll run you a bath. I made you some homemade chicken noodle soup. It will be good for you."

"I don't think I could swallow anything," she said, looking over at the bread and bowl of soup. She moved to rest back against the pillows on the bed and covered her lap with blankets.

"At least drink the broth. I swear it's good. I got the recipe from Christmas."

She nodded and smiled, "I'll try."

Roy leaned in to kiss her forehead lightly. He adjusted the pillows behind her, grabbed the tray, and sat it on her lap.

"Thank you," she said.

She offered him a small smile before he turned and made his way into the bathroom. When she heard the water hitting the tub, she directed her gaze down at the bowl of steaming soup. She took a deep whiff of the steam, hoping it would open up her nasal passage, but it had no effect. Her sense of smell was barely able to make out the aroma at all.

Picking up the spoon, she let out a sigh before she scooped up the broth and took a sip. Her eyes widened with surprise when she was able to taste a bit of it despite her lack of smell. She hadn't expected it to be so good. She began sipping more of the soup before daring to take in a small piece of chicken. She chewed it into tiny bits and swallowed, cringing as the morsels made their way down her esophagus. It was a pity she couldn't fully enjoy the soup, but she mentally noted to ask him to make it for her again when she was able to eat everything in the dish. It turned out that went through all of the trouble for nothing.

She looked up from the bowl as she heard him coming toward the bedroom. As soon as he came into view, she voiced what was on her mind. "Why didn't you make the chicken soup from the can? You have three cans in your cabinets."

"Because it's just not the same as homemade soup and has too much sodium. Homemade is the only way to go if you are sick. Lesser the salt, the least likely you are to dehydrate."

"You didn't have to go through all the trouble though," she said, "Chicken soup is difficult to prepare."

"There was no trouble," Roy said, leaving out the part about his sisters annoying him over the phone. "When you are done, I'll help you to the bathtub."

"You don't have to help me. I can make it."

"You suddenly grow shy or something?"

Riza couldn't help but laugh at his words. She smiled lightly, "Of course not, but I'm capable of bathing on my own."

"I know you have the skill," he joked.

"And you know that's not what I meant."

"Really Riza, you can't even stand without getting dizzy. There's no way I'm going to let you bath in there without supervision. You might pass out and drown."

"Yeah, you know that you just want to see me naked."

"I never get tired of seeing that," he said, "but that's not my reasoning. No this time at least."

Riza chuckled and shook her head, never admitting that it embarrassed her when he spoke like that. She motioned down to the tray then lifted it slightly. "It was good soup. What I had the ability to eat, that is. I'd like to try it again when I can actually eat solid foods."

"I'll make it for you're again when you recover," he said while taking the tray from her and sitting it on the side table.

She moved the blankets away from her and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, placing her bare feet on the cool floor. "Sounds good but at the moment a good bath is what's on my mind the most."

"Your muscles aching?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's one of the many reasons." Glancing down at her bare legs, she noted that they were bare of any type of covering. She then lifted her arms to see the sleeves draping thickly over them, hanging down in folds of cloth. After taking in her state of dress, she looked up at him questioningly.

"I grabbed my shirt and put it on you by mistake. I was in a hurry to get you warmed up. I was going to find yours and put it on you but looked so comfortable that I didn't want to disturb you."

Riza started to laugh but it quickly transformed into a heavy cough as soon as the first sound left her. She raised her hand to cover her mouth and leaned forward slightly, wary of giving the cold to Roy. He walked over to her and rubbed her back gently, waiting for her coughing to subside. When it finally ended, she looked up at him with a half-hearted smile. "I would have changed into one of your shirts anyway. They are comfortable."

Roy grinned and helped her get to her feet. He caught her when he saw that she was about to topple over. She rested her head against his chest and exhaled a shuddering sigh. "Damn, I feel so weak. How could it get this bad so quickly?"

"It's the typical flu," he stated, pulling her closer.

"I'm not supposed to get sick."

"You are a human being Riza. Of course you are supposed to get sick."

She sighed again with another round of coughs coming up behind it. Roy picked her up in his arms before she could make any move to protest, and he carried her into the bathroom. She rested her head in the junction of his neck and shoulder until he placed her in the chair sitting between the bathtub and the sink.

"I feel like an invalid," Riza muttered. She leaned back against the chair and looked down at her lap. "You aren't supposed to be taking care of me like this either. You are going to get down in your back if you keep picking me up all the time."

"First of all, I highly doubt that I'm going to get down in my back from carrying you. Secondly, why aren't I supposed to be taking care of you? You are my wife aren't you? I recall that part of my vows were to love honor and cherish. In sickness and in health."

"You mean obey," she said, as a sickly smile ornamented her lips.

"Huh?"

"For the husband the vow is love, honor and obey."

Roy wrinkled his nose. "Well that's not fair. A woman clearly wrote that," he said.

Riza narrowed her eyes at him until he turned and walked over to a shelf stacked above the sink. "Cherish should be in the vows before obey."

The comment surprised Riza but she didn't say anything about it to him. Just when she thought Roy meant something insulting he went and twisted his words into a statement that was anything but what it sounded like.

He turned to look at her. "You want anything in your bathwater?"

"Lavender bubble bath would be good," she said.

Roy ran his gaze across the labels on the bottles before taking one with a light purple label. He walked over and poured two capfuls under the warm water running into the tub from the silver faucet. The bubbles immediately sprung to life and conquered over the water as soon as the concoction made contact. The fresh smell of the lavender filled the bathroom, creating a warm, comfortable atmosphere along with the steam rising into the air and fogging up the mirrors.

"Are you sure you should be taking a warm bath? You have a fever and your body heating up could make you feel worse."

"I don't care," she said, "I have to take one." She made sure her tone left no room for argument. She felt incredibly dirty after actually being touched by the fuehrer, even if she had no control over it. It was cliché to want to scrub your skin after such contact but she didn't care about any bromide actions she would undertake. If it made her feel cleaner after finishing the process then she would do it without hesitation.

She grabbed the side of the sink and stood, swaying slightly as the room heaved to and fro. She removed her underwear and tossed them in the brown wicker clothing hamper across the room, her aim as great as always. When she let her hand resign its job of balancing her in favor of unbuttoning her shirt, she stumbled slightly. Her ability to keep balanced for short periods of time seemed to have eloped with her immune system.

Roy walked over to her and began to unbutton her shirt for her. As he did so, she moved her hands to rest on his waist so that she wouldn't falter. "You know," he started, "you could have just pulled this over your head really quickly."

"I could have, but I didn't want to take the chance that I would kiss the floor in the process of the pull."

He undid the last button on the garment and slipped it off her. He bent to kiss her shoulder as he sat the shirt on the sink. "Come on," he said, leading her to the tub. He helped her step over the side and she sat down into the water, sighing as the liquid enveloped her aching body that resided in her illusions of filth.

"Don't get too hot in there," Roy said, worriedly, "I don't want you to faint."

He sat down on the edge of the tub and leaned toward her face. He started to kiss her but she blocked his lips from brushing hers by holding up her hand.

"I don't want you to kiss me Roy," she said, her voice a bit more soothed thanks to the smooth steam in the room.

Roy's eyes widened. "What? Why not?"

Riza grabbed a washcloth, put some soap on it and began scrubbing her skin roughly. "You might get sick."

Roy stopped her hand from its scrubbing by grabbing her wrist. He leaned forward, even closer to her than he had been before, and stared into her eyes. "Something is bothering you."

"Of course it is," she said, "I have the—"

"It's much more than just the flu. What's wrong?"

"You are imagining things," she said. "I'm fine."

"No, I don't think so," he said, "I'm asking you what's wrong and you know I can be a stubborn bastard when I have my mind set on knowing something. "

Riza knew what he was saying was true; however, she didn't know if she should really tell him what was on her mind. If she did, how much should she speak? Could she really tell him how she felt when she was around the fuehrer? Or about the incident in the hallway with the man? The problem was that if she told him then he would grow overprotective and then it would likely distract him from his goal.

"Riza," he prompted.

"I don't like the way it felt when the fuehrer touched me," she said. "I don't like it when the man looks at me or even just passes me. When he does I feel dirty, like I'm being buried in mud." She hoped that her words would be enough to placate her husband.

"Touched you? What in the hell do you mean by touched!"

"Just carrying me to the infirmary Roy. He didn't touch me in any other way. I might have shot him if he'd tried."

"And the looks you were talking about?"

Riza sighed. "It's just his gaze sends bad feelings through me." If she'd ever voiced an understatement in her life that certainly was the one she'd spoken.

Roy stared at her for a few moments and sighed. "And you didn't want to kiss me because you felt dirty?"

"No, that's not the reason. I told you that I didn't want to kiss you because you'll get sick too. We can't have you g—"

He cut her off when he cupped the side of her face with his palm and kissed her. He slipped his tongue between her lips and ran it along her white teeth before she opened her mouth further and he slipped it inside, taking in her taste. She closed her eyes and began returning the ardent gesture even though she was sick. She would never, under any private circumstances unless she was angry with him, refuse to kiss him back. She groaned, not knowing which intensified her dizziness more, the heat of the room or the way his lips were dancing with hers.

She pulled away when she felt as if a cough were ascending her throat. Sure enough, she began coughing and turned away from him. "You are going to get sick, I know it," she said when the coughing ceased.

"Well If I get sick so be it," he said, "I've had the flu shot this year so I'm more protected from it than you were."

"Yes I suppose," she relented, still angry at herself for not getting that shot when she should have. She scooted up in the tub. "If that's the case, then come and take a bath with me. It's a good chance to spend some more time with you."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "You really want me to do that that?"

Riza nodded, "Yes. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't."

Roy stripped of his clothing as Riza filled the tub with fresher water, this time cooler water to lower the temperature slightly. She turned and watched him undress, taking in the firm muscles under his peach skin. He turned toward her and her stomach flopped when she gazed at his abdomen. She was attracted to a lot of things about Roy but his newly acquired six-pack abs made her a very felicitous woman. Of course, she was happy with him no matter what he looked like.

He stepped into the tub and settled down in the hot water behind her. She leaned back against him and relaxed completely when his arms wrapped around her. She rested her head on his chest, closed her eyes and listened to the steady thump thump thump of his heartbeat.

"I still say this heat isn't good for you," Roy said.

"Just let me enjoy my current state, okay?"

Roy chuckled and kissed the top of her head, "Okay, sorry but if you start feeling faint, please let me know." When she didn't respond, he looked down at her. She was fast asleep against him, breathing very deeply, yet her exhalations brought forth the typical flu like wheeze that often accompanied the illness. She had a soft smile on her lips as she rested against him, obviously comfortable.

"It's about time that I'm able to take care of you for once," he said.

--

Riza moaned, then shivered and made a move to cuddle closer to her husband's warm body, knowing that it would quickly stop the chills from attacking her. Unfortunately, when she did so, she found that he wasn't lying in bed with her. She jerked her eyes open and shut them instantly when the light of the morning sun lashed upon them like a whip of luminance.

Cursing the crack between the two curtains that let in the brightness, she slowly inched her lids open bit by bit. Her hand was placed in front of them to offset the light from a direct assault. Even after they were adapted to the slight shine, she regretted having to open them. Her head was pounding so harshly that she could feel and hear it in her ears. Her eyes were burning as if they were dry but they were watering at the edges. She frowned at the contradictory actions.

As she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, she turned her head toward the fireplace to see a fire still burning brilliantly within the hearth. Beside the fireplace were two fresh piles of wood stacked neatly in pyramids comprised of small logs. There was a tiny metal bucket of thinner pieces of wood on the opposite side of the stacks of logs.

The sounds of footsteps suddenly drew her attention away form the fireplace and toward the door. A moment later, as she expected, Roy entered the room. He was carrying a tray in his gloved grasp. Upon it sat a bowl of a steaming substance, a glass of orange juice and a mug filled with something that was also causing steam to rise into the air, tea if she were to hazard a guess. When he arrived at the bed, he sat the tray on the table in the same place he had sat it the previous night. She looked at the items upon it and identified the substance in the bowl as porridge. When she saw the tea bag in the mug with the hot liquid she realized her guess about the contents had been correct.

Roy turned to her and leaned in to kiss her lightly on the lips. "Good morning beautiful. I made breakfast for you. You should sit back and eat."

Riza scanned his body from where his pants were tucked into his boots, up to the collar of his shirt, taking in the fact that he was wearing his uniform and gloves already, obviously ready for work. Usually she had such a difficult time getting him to wake up and get out of bed, so it was a surprise to see him so wide-awake and ready for the day.

"Why are you looking at me so funny?"

She looked surprised at his words, unaware that she'd had a particular expression on her face. "Am I?" Her voice came out even gruffer and the pain coarser than it had been the previous day.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry. It's just that I'm not used to you being awake before me, much less out of bed."

"You are sick. You aren't supposed to be up. You fell asleep against me in the bathtub last night."

Before she could speak, an assault of coughs flew from her mouth. She winced with each one as her throat dissented against the air issuing from her lungs. Eventually, she took a deep breath, wincing again, then spoke, "Oh…I don't remember falling asleep."

Roy was looking at her with concern after her round of coughing. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"

Riza looked down and saw that she was in her flannel pajamas instead of his shirt. She blushed a bit and looked up at him. "You should have woken me up."

"No, you were sleeping too peacefully. You just wanted to snuggle against me. And of course, I didn't mind."

"You are already dressed...for work."

Roy noticed a tinge of hesitation in her voice and offered her a smile. "I'll be fine Riza," he reassured her calmly. "I even called Havoc to pick me up so I won't have to walk. He already said he was planning on it anyway because he knew you'd want him to."

She gave him a nod. Even though that was the case, she still didn't feel comfortable with him going to work. Now she realized how useless Roy felt when his gloves were wet, there was nothing she could currently do to be of any use to her. Her proverbial gloves were soaked.

The mattress sank with his weight as he crawled upon it and moved toward her, "I'll keep my gloves on all day and I promise not to get wet. Don't worry about me love. You just worry about getting better."

Riza didn't say anything for two reasons, the first being that now her voice was burning violently, and the second reason being that she knew it would be impossible not to worry about him.

Roy tilted his head towards her, intending on giving her a kiss but she shook her head. He lowered his chin and stared directly into her eyes. "We've already bathed together and I kissed you last night. What is a kiss this morning going to hurt? Has this cold affected your brain?"

Riza frowned and narrowed her eyes. "Just for that I'm not kissing you," she whispered. In reality she really did want to kiss him. She also wanted to strap him to the bed until she got better so he wouldn't be out and in danger.

"I'm not leaving this bedroom until I get a kiss from my wife." His voice was full of amusement as he spoke. He placed his right hand on the back of her neck and pulled her forward so that his lips touched hers. Sighing, she closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around his neck and, like last night, returned the kiss despite her spinning surroundings. She let herself fall back onto the mattress, taking Roy with her.

As soon as he pulled away from the kiss, a smirk formed on his lips. He was greatly amused at his current position on top of her. "Are you sure you are sick?"

She chortled. "You can stay here," she said, and then wrapped her leg around his waist. She pulled him down on her and snuggled her face to rest against his chest. "You are warm. Don't go."

"I have to, you know that," Roy said. Riza being so clingy to him was a rarity but it wasn't an unwelcomed one. It was nice that she was depending on him for something for once. She was always so independent that sometimes he felt like he was of no use to her as both a husband and commanding officer.

She moved her head so that she could look at his face. He leaned in and kissed the edge of her chin a few times. "I'd better get going before I'm late and end up making a mess of my uniform." He kissed her on the lips again before crawling off her and then off of the bed. He grabbed his coat, which was draped over the back of a chair, and turned toward her as he put it on. "I'll come back here for lunch," he said, "I love you."

"I love you too," she said and watched as he walked out of the room. A desire to actually cry came to her and she flopped back onto the bed. She cringed as she heard the apartment door shut, the noise sending a feeling of helplessness to her body. As if things weren't already dangerous in the East already, a serial killer like Scar was out to get him. She would feel so much more secure if she were with him. Now she understood how Gracia and the other housewives of military men felt when their husbands left for work. There was a lingering, weighty possibility that their men wouldn't make it back home. That the last thing they'd see would be their lover's back.

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**AN: I had a lot of fun writing this and I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are extremely appreciated and very encouraging. **


	55. Riza Hawkeye's Duties

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 55: Riza Hawkeye's Duties **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction other than writing practice. I do own my idea so no taking. **

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**Riza Hawkeye's Duties**

Roy opted to take the stairs down to the lobby, passing by the creaking elevator that he wouldn't set foot in ever again. The thing clearly wasn't safe and he wasn't planning to risk his life in the contraption. He had enough threats already without worrying about a pulley mechanism.

When he walked out of the building, Havoc was waiting there with a car. He was leaning against the hood, arms folded over his chest and his cigarette in his mouth. It was his standard posture anytime he was waiting. He straightened when he saw Roy.

"How's the lieutenant feeling?"

"How would I know?"

Havoc looked at him skeptically, "You mean to tell me you didn't check on her?"

Roy opened the back door to the car. "She's pretty much miserable. She can speak but it's gravelly and hurts her, she's got a bad cough, fever, muscle aches. All of the common flu symptoms."

"Ouch. Glad I got the vaccine first," Havoc said.

They both got into the car and began the short drive to headquarters. "The fuehrer and his entourage left this morning. I got orders in a phone call about four this morning."

"Orders? What kind of orders?"

"Any subordinates of the state alchemists are to guard them with their lives," Havoc said, "That came straight from the fuehrer's mouth."

Roy raised an eyebrow, "Was it really?"

"Well, maybe it wasn't so causal but I got the gist of the order when his aide passed it down to me. They were going to call Hawkeye but I heard the fuehrer mention something about leaving her be. He probably knew she'd be absent today."

"Yeah…" Roy said. Havoc looked up at him, recognizing that Roy's tone sounded like he was suspecting something.

"What's up chief?"

"It's nothing," he said, "I was just thinking that even if they did try to call they probably wouldn't have been able to get through to her. She'd probably either been sleeping too deeply or turned off her phone."

"You had that suspicious tone because of that? I'm not buying it."

Roy laughed. "You know me almost as good as Hughes and Hawkeye," he said.

Havoc huffed and removed his cigarette from his mouth to stick it out the window and tap off its ashes. "I'm not even close to knowing you that well. I wonder sometimes who knows you better. Hughes or Hawkeye."

Roy shrugged, "Probably Hawkeye. She's around me the most on missions and the like."

"If I were to have guessed, I would have probably chosen Hawkeye as well. Anyway, what's with the suspicion? Do you think the fuehrer wants to transfer Hawkeye?"

"I'm not sure what he wants. You know the fuehrer wouldn't just happen to be walking in headquarters and just happen to see her collapse."

Havoc stuck his cigarette back between his lips, took a draw from it, and released the smoke from the left side of his mouth. "So you think he was watching her?"

Roy took a long pause before finally answering. "Yes, I think so."

"Well the good news is that he's left town so he won't be watching anymore."

"Unless he's having someone else do it."

"I think maybe you are just being paranoid because she's not here for you to watch over chief."

"Watch over? Don't you think you are getting our roles reversed?"

"You watch over her just as much as she guards you," Havoc said. "We all keep an eye out for her. She may not like being treated any different as a soldier because she's a woman but she is. Almost every guy around her that knows her will protect her if she gets in danger."

"She won't be happy to hear that."  
"She doesn't have to know. Of course, her being a woman isn't the only reason we'd do that. She's a comrade first and foremost."

"That might be better for her to hear if you ever say anything about it," Roy said.

"I don't plan on revealing anything of the sort. I don't want to be one of the men she forces to help her with target practice."

"She what?" Roy's facial expression turned to one of extreme surprise.

"Ah, there's a reason why some people are afraid of Hawkeye. I won't say anything else about it though. Secret between friends."

"If Hawkeye is doing anything against military rules I…"  
"Will do absolutely nothing…" Havoc finished for him. He pulled into the parking lot at headquarters and turned off the motor. He turned in his seat and chuckled. "We know you aren't going to punish Hawkeye. Besides, they are better officers for it afterward. Tend to be very loyal to you as well."  
"What did they do to gain her wrath?" Roy asked.

"One asked her age, the other hit her on the ass," he said. "There are more but the latter action seems to be the most frequent."

Roy narrowed his eyes. "Let her do what she wants. They should be thankful they aren't being charged with sexual harassment." Roy growled inwardly. They were even luckier that they weren't being turned into Amestris military barbeque.

"I thought you'd feel that way."

They got out of the car and entered the building. When they got to the office door Roy stopped in his tracks when he heard a familiar voice echo throughout the hallway. He turned to see Hughes walking down the hall toward him with his typical huge smile on his face. No matter how bleak things seemed, there was always a time when Hughes smiled.

Roy looked at Havoc questioningly and the blond lieutenant shrugged in response.

"Hughes, what are you doing here?" Roy said, turning back toward his best friend.

"Fuehrer asked me to stay here until tomorrow's afternoon train to supervise the gathering of all the information regarding what happened out there with Scar. Testimony from civilians and all that stuff. We have to go back to the site at noon."

"We?"

"Yes, you and me and whatever bodyguards you are required to have."

"Great…" Roy groaned.

The three men entered the office where Fuery, Falman, and Breda were already sitting, waiting for work to start.  
"He couldn't let a lower officer handle that?" Roy asked.

"Apparently not. What's the matter? Not happy to have me around?"

"Hughes…" Roy said with a threatening tone. Roy knew that sentence would be the beginning of a long line of teasing. He was surprised when Maes went off topic.

Maes glanced around the room, "Hey, where's Hawkeye. Isn't she usually with you?"

"Hawkeye caught the flu," Havoc said.

"Ah, I remember she was sick yesterday," Maes said.

Everyone in the room, other than Maes. Havoc and Roy, had turned pallid.

"Hawkeye caught the flu? That's crazy!" Fuery exclaimed, unused to hearing such things about the always healthy lieutenant.

"She's never gotten sick and missed work before," Falman stated.

"Yes, that's true," Roy said.  
"Didn't she get a flu shot?" Breda asked, using a similar surprised tone that Fuery had used.

Roy sighed. "That question is going to haunt her for the rest of her life. No Breda, she didn't get the flu shot." He walked over to his desk and took a seat. The clock of the giant bell tower in the middle of the city rang out, sounding its nine chimes thunderously.

"Let's get to work," Roy said, looking at his desk. He blinked when there were no papers residing upon its flat oak surface. "Where's my work?"

Everyone looked around and saw that all the desks were void of forms, books, and anything else indicative that they were to start the working progress.

"Um…" Everyone said at the same time.

They looked at the door when they heard footsteps heading toward the office.

"Hey all, Where's Riza?" Rebecca said, as she walked into the room. She was smiling widely, obviously overjoyed about something and wanting to tell Riza. Mustang's office was generally laid back so she didn't bother saluting.

"She has the flu," Mustang finally said, when no one spoke. He looked at Havoc, who kept his gaze off the female officer, and laughed. The kiss between the two of them really must have been something for the guy not to make eye contact, especially considering how long it had been.

"Didn't she get an fl —"

"No!" Roy snapped, interrupting Rebecca, "She didn't!"

Rebecca took a step back. "Geeze, who whizzed in your cornflakes?"

Roy glared at her. "First of all, I don't eat those disgusting pieces of...corn dandruff."

"Corn…dandruff?" Rebecca said, looking at him strangely.

"Second, just because you get the flu shot doesn't mean you won't get the flu. There are different strands of the virus but I don't feel like going into the microbiology of it." Right after he spoke that, he felt a bit hypocritical since he noted to Riza that he was safe from her flu because of the vaccination. Of course, he did that so he could help his wife. He reasoned that since it was under the husband codes that he made up, it was all right. "Lastly, if someone asks me that one more time I'm going to snap, both temper and alchemy wise."

Everyone nodded and Roy relaxed. "Lieutenant Catalina, do you know what Hawkeye does when she gets here?" Roy questioned.

The dark haired woman raised a hand to her chin. "Well, I don't know everything she does but I do know that she sometimes makes a pot of coffee."

Roy looked at his subordinates. "Do any of you know how to make coffee?"

"So she makes the coffee around here in the mornings too?" Hughes said, and then turned to Roy. "Best I've had. It's far better than Gracia's coffee, that's for sure."

Everyone in the room gasped and Maes frowned. "It's not like I think Gracia can do everything perfect," he said when he saw the way everyone was looking at him.

"Can you make coffee?" Roy asked.  
"No, not worth a damn. Why do you think I wait until I get to headquarters to drink it?"

"How about you Rebecca?" Breda asked.  
"I don't cook or make hot beverages," she got a haunted look in her eyes, ". . . ever."

Breda slowly scooted his chair away from Rebecca. She looked like someone that belonged in a mental asylum and he couldn't help but wonder what exactly happened regarding her and cooking.

"I can make the coffee, Chief," Havoc said, standing up when the others made no motion to move. He left the office.

"I assume next she would get the paperwork since we have none," Fuery said.

Roy groaned and rested his head in his hands. "Yes, she's the one that gets that in the morning. I don't know how I could forget that. Fuery, Falman, go to the paperwork office and get it."

"Yes sir," they said, then stood and walked over to the door. They both paused and then turned to him.

"Sir, where's the paperwork office?" Fuery questioned.

"What? Are you kidding me? You seriously don't know where the office is?"

"Well, we never go get the paperwork," Falman said.

"It is . . . Come to think about it. I don't have a clue. Do you know where it is Breda?"

"No, not me, Sir," he said.

"Don't look at me," Hughes said, "I don't know this place that well."

"How about you?" Roy asked Rebecca.

"No, I got transferred from the South when you guys got transferred here. Plus, I don't even work in the building. I work at the range and we get what we need to fill out delivered to us after its sighed by her. As a matter of fact, Riza is the one that delivers it, and then she does her shooting practice."

"Why don't you just call her and get a list of what she does?" Hughes said.

"I don't want to disturb her unnecessarily," Roy said.

"If I know Riza, in this case she won't mind," Rebecca replied, "She'll have a huge headache if you people mess things up. It wouldn't do good for her to be pressed down with things after recovering."

Rebecca walked over to pick up Roy's phone on his desk but Roy picked it up before her. He quickly dialed his number because Riza was at his place. He could have let Rebecca dial Riza's number and get no answer, that way his wife wouldn't be disturbed. Sadly, Rebecca was right though, he never realized how much Hawkeye did for them until she was gone. The burden of fixing what they messed up would tire her out quick.

Roy handed the phone receiver to Rebecca and leaned back in his chair as if he did nothing odd. She stared at him for a moment before grabbing a pen out of the cup and twisting it around in her fingers like a small baton. He took a notepad out of his desk drawer and sat it beside the phone.

--

Riza stared down at the porridge in the bowl and frowned as her stomach felt like it was twisting. She heard a small whine and looked to her left to see Hayate sitting there, looking concerned.

"I'm okay," she said, "I'm just not hungry."

Hayate barked then jumped upon the foot of the bed. He moved quickly back when a sneeze left her, his ears flatting against his head. She smiled at her dog, and then directed her gaze back down on the porridge. "Well, feed a fever, starve a cold," she said and took a bit of the porridge. She closed her eyes as the warmth soothed her neck for a moment. After eating half of the bowls contents, she sat the tray beside her on the bed and grabbed the orange juice that was sitting on the tray, lifted it to her lips . . . then her stomach lurched. She quickly sat the juice down on the side table and rushed to the bathroom, emptying the food that she'd just consumed. After a few dry heaves, indicating she was now void of food, she stood and walked over to the washbasin.

Her hands touched the smooth marble counter as she leaned toward the sink, eyes closed and breathing rapidly. She had never felt so horrible before. After a short time of just trying to catch her breath, she opened her eyes and gasped at the sight she saw in the mirror. It wasn't often that she really cared much about her looks, but looking like a freshly created zombie was nothing that a woman aspired to. Naturally, it was to be expected since she was sick, but that didn't make it less surprising to see her reflection when she was in such a state. She grabbed a washcloth, soaked it, and pressed it against her fever flushed cheeks.

As she was in the process of washing her face, the phone rang. She threw the washcloth in the hamper and walked back into the bedroom, holding onto the furniture to make sure she didn't go toppling over courtesy of her current spinning merry-go-round world. She sat down on the bed and picked up the phone. Riza didn't speak, hoping the person that called would do so when they received no hello. Sure enough, a familiar and unexpected voice spoke.

"Riza? Are you there, I heard you pick up. Can't you talk?"

Riza felt her eyebrow twitch. "Yes, I can talk," Riza said, her voice coming out the worst it sounded since she got the flu.

"Whoa, you sound like shit," Rebecca said.

"Thanks for that Rebecca, I appreciate the kind words," she said, her voice tone was filled with irony. "What do you want?"

"I met this great guy! He's…"  
"Lieutenant, I didn't let you call her to tell her about some poor sap that is taking you on a date," Riza heard Roy snarl in frustration, "Just get the list."

"Fine," she muttered. "Riza, these dicks here in the office don't know what you do every day so they had me call and get a list."

"What I do?" Riza questioned.

"Yes, they don't want to get things wrong and leave you with extra work when you get back. I'm surprised they give a damn about such things considering what asses they are most of the-"

Riza heard Roy speak in a tongue she recognized as Xingese. His voice was extremely harsh toward her.

"This is when I leave," Maes said to Breda and quickly left the office.

"What in the fuck did you just say?" Rebecca replied to him, causing Riza to chuckle then cough when she lost her breaths.

Roy took a deep breath. "Lieutenant Catalina, get the tasks before I take the phone," Roy snapped.

"Okay, okay," Rebecca said then turned away from him. "How do you put up with that temper of his?"

"I don't annoy him," Riza replied.

"Oh. How boring." Rebecca sighed, "Okay then, what is it that you do?"

"Well, first thing in the morning I come in and make coffee since the secretary on our floor doesn't know how to use the coffee urn."

"We have Havoc doing that so check," Rebecca said.

"Do you like syrup?" Riza questioned.

"What?"

"Do you like to syrup?"

"Yes, I suppose. What's that got to do with anything?"

"Let me rephrase that. Do you like to drink syrup?" she said.

"Eww, no. Why?"

"Because that is what you'll get if Havoc makes the coffee."

Rebecca looked at Breda "Stop Havoc from making the coffee! Hurry!"

Breda didn't hesitate and rushed out of the room.

"Okay, he shall be stopped. Now what?"

"I go get the paperwork for the office."

"Fuery and Falman were going to do that but they don't know where the paperwork office is."

Riza sighed, "All this time and…"

"You know how men aren't very observant right?" she said, not telling Riza that she didn't know where it was either.

"Why didn't you tell them?" Riza asked. Rebecca stiffened.

"Um…well…"

"You don't know where it is either, do you?"

"No," she said with a sigh. "But you can't blame me. I hardly ever come into the main building."

Riza closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Fifth floor first," Straight down the hall to the left to get the maintenance reports from the maintenance office. Then go right from there to get the others from office 12. Just tell them what office you are from since they might not recognize you."

"Right, okay…" Rebecca said, handing Roy the notepad.

"Then you have to go to the fourth floor," Riza said.

"Oh," she said, and grabbed the notepad from Roy as he was looking at it. He started to protest but saw Rebecca was poised to write, the phone tucked between her shoulder and cheek.

"Fourth floor go to the office directly across from the elevator. Get that work."

"Great," she said, starting to hand the paper back to Roy.

"Then you go to the library on the first floor, I know Fuery knows where that is."

Rebecca jerked the notebook back just as Roy started to close his grasp upon it. Rebecca started writing on it and reached it toward Roy, He started to take it but she jerked it back again when Riza continued talking.

"Is that it?" Rebecca asked when Riza paused in her instructions.

"No. After that I organize it by what needs the colonel's signature and what the rest of us can do. Then I distribute it. By the time those get done, its time for lunch."

"And after lunch?" Rebecca asked, making sure she kept the notepad.

"I deliver the morning weapons paperwork, which Sergeant Joanna Powers brings in the mornings at ten by the way, to the range. Then I do my shooting, come back, and have the colonel sign the paperwork I got from the range. Then I repeat the events of the morning if we don't have a mission. If we do, it gets stacked up for the next day."

"Then what?"

"We go home," Riza said.

"And that's it?" Rebecca questioned, making sure she could give the colonel the notepad without having to jerk it back to write something down.

"Unless you want to know what I do in the evenings then yes, that's it."

"Okay, thanks Riza," Rebecca said, handing Roy the notepad.

"Are you sure?" he asked before taking it. Rebecca nodded and he took the paper.

"Thank you Riza. Sorry for interrupting your rest and take care of yourself okay?"

"I will."

"If you need something you know where I am," she said.

"I do need something Becca," she said.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Keep the colonel safe, okay?"

Rebecca heaved a huge, fake sigh. "Fine, if I have to."

"Rebecca, please. You know that he's important to me."

"I don't see why but you know I'll do what you ask."

"Thank you," Riza said.

"Don't mention it. It's what friends are for," she said, "Bye."

Rebecca hung up the phone and shook her head. "She sounds awful. I hope she actually takes care of herself and doesn't worry too much."

"Same here," Roy said. He stood and walked over to the window.

Rebecca studied the way he was acting and smiled softly. There weren't any doubts that he cared about Riza as more than a subordinate but once in a while when he was with people he trusted, he did small things that displayed his feelings. She walked over to the door then turned back toward him. "I'll be going now. Don't bother coming to the range to get the papers. I'll fill out Riza's part and do her duties regarding those. It will make things easier."

"Thank you lieutenant," Roy said, absently.

"She does a lot around here. I'm her best friend and I didn't know that she did all of this." She then walked out of the room.

"Better than me not knowing," Roy muttered.

--

Roy bit his tongue to keep the vocalization of annoyances at bay. Instead the handkerchief in his right pocket was arresting the full brunt of his present feelings. This brunt was courtesy of the hand that was shoved in said pocket and squeezing the fabric with all its might. He hated having bodyguards around him even if they were members of his group. There was something so confining about being flanked on both sides by people. He was use to one person on his right side and that person was better than ten or fifteen of Amestris' finest guards.

Havoc was walking on his left while Rebecca was flanking his right. There was something wrong with another woman walking on that side. It felt like he was cheating on Riza when he obviously was doing no such thing. The wrongness of the dark haired woman walking there poked him like invisible needles, sewing threads of discomfort and unease through his skin. The other question was why she was there.

He stopped in his walking, Rebecca and Havoc stopping with him, and turned toward the woman.

"Why are you here?" Roy said.

"Because I'm serving as one of your bodyguards," she said.

"I'm aware of that. But why are you serving in that manner? Someone from my direct unit should be here. You work in the shooting range."

"It is my duty to protect my commanding officer when he is in danger. I am among the best marksmen if not the second best one at Eastern Headquarters. It's only right that I be here."

"Cocky much?" Havoc questioned, earning a glare from the onyx eyed Rebecca.

"Shut it," she said, "If I was cocky I would have said, the best marksman."

"Hawkeye being the best of course," Havoc said. Everyone knew that she had the best accuracy of anyone there in the east and probably in the entire military.

"Of course, Captain Obvious," she snapped.

"Cut the bickering or I'll have to write out a reprimand for improper conduct and I'm not in the mood to hear your bitching or do any additional paperwork. Let's get to the scene and get back." Roy took a few steps then stopped again. "Wait a minute. Where's Hughes?"

"He's already on the site," Havoc said.

"I see," Roy said. Just as he started to go through the door, he heard someone call him. "Colonel Mustang, Sir! Lieutenant Colonel Hughes is on the phone. He says that he has an important matter to discuss with you before you leave headquarters."

"Very well." Roy turned to Havoc and Rebecca, "wait here." Roy followed the sergeant to a nearby office and took the phone that the man handed to him. He moved to stand outside the door as if he was on guard duty.

Roy spoke into the phone, "hello?" His eyes widened when he heard shouts and ranting over the line. "Hughes! Hughes, are you there?"

"Yeah I'm here!" Hughes voice sounded, louder than his normal speaking voice. "It is chaos here Roy and they are on their way toward headquarters."

"They? Who are they?"

"Protesters," Maes said.

"What in the hell are they protesting?"  
"I have no idea, I can't tell over the shouting. It's not safe for you to come here right now. Especially since Scar could be among them. They are going to form in front of Headquarters thankfully."  
"What in the hell do you mean thankfully? That leaves us to deal with it."

"By being here they are destroying any evidence that we may find from the scene."

"Oh I see, so you just want to leave them to me and give me a headache."

Roy heard a loud crash and cringed. He sighed. "We'll handle it."

"You might want to talk to Grumman about the situation and how to best deal with it. I'm sure you don't want to use rubber bullets or tear gas right?"

"Grumman won't be back in Eastern until noon but I'll talk to him as soon as possible. I won't use any of those weapons unless there's no other option presented," Roy said. "It depends on how violent they get. If they endanger my men I'm liable to do far worse than that."

"Good luck," Maes said, his voice lowering as the yells of the people lessened in frequency and volume.

"We're going to need it," Roy said and hung up the phone. "Great, just great," he muttered, folding his arms over his chest. He walked out and after thanking the sergeant made his way over to Rebecca and Havoc who were standing a great distance apart. They were making it painfully obvious that they were avoiding eye contact with one another. Roy withheld a grin and a teasing comment; it wasn't the time for such beleaguering.

"Lieutenant Catalina, go to the range and prepare some guns. Havoc you are to get the men and put them around the perimeter of headquarters, then return to the office when that is done."

"Sure thing, but what's going on chief?"

"There's a group of protesters on their way to demonstrate in front of headquarters," Roy said.

"Isn't men with guns a bit of overkill for mere protesters."  
"It's a good deterrent to violent protests. Hughes could barely speak because of them. I'm not taking any chances. Havoc, make sure that you don't choose men that are too prone to pulling the trigger. Make sure they have good control. I can't have any civilians getting shot unnecessarily."

"Right," he said. Havoc and Rebecca left to follow their orders as Roy made his way to Grumman's office. Grumman's new secretary gave him a flirty smile as soon as he walked through the door.

"What can I do for you today Colonel Mustang?" She said, her voice coming out smoother and more sensual than normal. When she talked to Grumman it was completely serious. Of course, the woman had frequently made it clear that she wanted him. He let her go through the actions she wanted as long as she didn't get too touchy-feely. If he let that happen one of two things might occur as a result. Riza would find out and he'd get the "honor" of being the first man to have an extended length circumcision via her bullets, or Riza would find out and use the girl as a living breathing paper target holder. Then there was always the possibility than she'd be extra evil and do both of those. She could hold and fire a gun with both hands after all.

He forced himself to relax. He slimly quirked his lips upward at her, creating a false impression that he was happy about her attentions. "I'd like you to call me when General Grumman arrives. There's a matter which I have to discuss with him." He placed his hands on her desk and leaned forward, smirking at her and staring into her green eyes. He hated green eyes and it was a task to keep from grimacing. "Think you could do that for me?"

She blushed and nodded, "Certainly, I'd be happy to do that." She tossed her hair and stood, clearly about to make a move on him.

He quickly straightened his posture and walked to the door. "Thank you, I won't forget your good deed," he said, and then walked out of the office. As soon as he was out of the woman's sight, his lips fell back into a neutral line and his posture tensed again.

When he arrived at his own office, he shut the door and went over to the window. A large group of people were making their way down the street, at the moment appearing as if they were the small windup toys that children often got as presents during the Amestrian holiday season. He turned away from the window and sat down in his chair. The office was empty and there was limited paperwork on his desk. He would usually put off doing that as long as he could, but until someone gave him an update it was the best course of action to pass the time.

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**AN: I wanted to give you more of a chapter but it didn't feel right. This sets up next chapter which is already 80 percent done. Hope you enjoyed this one and please drop a review. **

**I also have a poll up on my profile regarding this fic. Please go and vote as it is importanat. **


	56. The Protests

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 56: The Protests **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. I do own my idea so no taking that. **

**AN: Hope you enjoy the chapter! **

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**The Protests**

With just the slightest bit of pressure applied, aided in intensity by irritation, a number 2 pencil breaks as easily as a glass thrown against a wall. As Roy tossed the tenth pencil he broke into the trash, he tried to ignore the screams and shouts of the many demonstrators forming outside headquarters. There were four guards standing along the fence while the others remained mobilized at the range just in case the protesters became rioters. He was thankful that, for now, the protests were relatively peaceful, the crowd throwing slurs instead of items.

He picked up another pencil and began working on another piece of the paperwork, trying to ignore the noise outside and failing miserably as he heard another crack between his fingers. He looked down and grimaced, "There's eleven," he muttered. He stood and walked over to the window. Looking out past the black steel gates, he saw the crowd had become even larger. No one had signs to tell about their protests and the only words they were yelling were anti-military aspersions.

He lifted his hand and began rubbing his right temple as he turned back toward his desk. It wasn't that he was against the protests at all; it showed that their country still had freedom of speech despite it being under military rule. He was against the fact that they chose the very day when Riza wasn't around to calm his nerves. Usually just looking over at his beautiful wife was enough to relax him and remind him that even the slightest burns to the protesters would be an improper code of conduct.

Roy started to sit down again but stopped mid way when the door opened and a musky, sour scent hit his nostrils. His stomach lurched and he wrinkled his nose. He looked toward the door and saw Havoc standing there, looking greatly annoyed. Straightening, he studied the lieutenant for a moment.

A thick red liquid, which Roy couldn't identify by sight alone, covered Havoc's head. His normally spiky hair was flat and the goo was dripping off it slowly, like molasses off a spoon. It painted his face, seemingly sinking into the pores of the skin at his cheeks. It was seeping into the blue fabric of his uniform, turning it a dark purple shade and clearly affirming itself to forever residing there. No amount of dry-cleaning would ever get rid of the stain.

"What in the hell are you covered with Havoc?" Roy finally asked after his observations.

Havoc raised his hand and stared at the goo that was on it. "I don't know. It's some sort of goo that smells like a mix of cat shit and strawberry preserves, with the texture of sewage sludge."

"How did you get such gunk on you?"

"The protesters! How else would I manage this?"

Roy furrowed his eyebrows, "Why wasn't I made aware that they were throwing things?"

"That's what I'm here to tell you," he said. "Any military member, soldier or officer, walking by, gets either pelted with balloons filled with gunk or some kind of rubble. It's going to get violent if we don't do something."

"What are they protesting exactly?"

"They are protesting the city being damaged and the fact we haven't caught the serial killer."

"Apparently they think we are superhuman and we can just catch someone immediately," Breda said as he walked into the office. A grey powdery substance covered his head and shoulders, flying into the clean air of the office with every step he took. He stopped, crinkled his eyes and nose, and then sneezed. When Havoc and Roy looked at him questioningly, he sighed, "It is cement."

"I'd rather be covered in cement than this red gunk," Havoc said.

"So what are we going to do?" Breda asked.

Roy shook his head, he hated having to wait for permission to handle something that needed dealt with now. It was times like these that he questioned a need for such chain of command rules. Despite the rules stating he wasn't able to act, he would get the blame if things didn't go well because he didn't act. No matter what, if fate didn't see fit to help him out, it was a no win situation. As he began racking his brain for what to do, Falman rushed into the room.

The three men present nearly gagged as a vile smell caused the fresher air in the room to retreat. A thick brown clumpy substance was on top of Falman's head and shoulders. There were stains streaked along his cheeks and a gob at the top of his lip. He kept his lips closed tightly so the substance wouldn't get in his mouth.

"For the love of god Falman, you smell like shit," Breda managed to say and took a step back.

Falman grabbed a tissue from the box on the table beside him and cleaned off his face before opening his mouth to speak. He took a breath and then coughed as a taste of the shit went down his throat via air. "I think that's because this is shit," he said scrunching up one side of his face as he slapped his lips and tongue to try to get rid of the lingering taste.

"What do you need that was more urgent than washing off shit?" Roy questioned.

"We have two soldiers that were knocked unconscious by items hurled by the crowd. Where they get the idea for some of the things they are throwing is beyond anything I can imagine."

"I hope that's not fresh, human shit," Havoc said.

Falman glared at him, "It's bad enough already without you contemplating where this stuff came from."

"Get some more MP's out there right away and then go take a shower," Roy said.

"Yes, Sir," Falman said and quickly left the office just as Fuery rushed into it.

"Sir, General Grumman's car is stalled at the back road that leads to headquarters."

"At least he isn't covered by something," Havoc muttered to Breda.

"Stalled? By what?" Roy said, his voice tone a mixture of frustration and irritation.

"Road work," Fuery replied, clearly annoyed as well at giving him such a message.

"Oh for the love of…" Roy trailed off and paced the length of his desk twice while running a hand through his hair. It seemed as if every time something stressful was happening, a tiny event would occur that would dart another spark of vexation into an already raging inferno. Roy stopped and turned to the young man. "Just tell the workers to move aside!"

"There's a ten foot deep ditch in the middle of the road and the water main is busted. It's the left over damage from the late General Grand's fight with Scar."

"It figures that bastard would give me hell even after he's dead." Roy took a deep breath and turned to Havoc and Breda. "You two hurry and clean up. Then, come back here immediately. "

"Right chief," Havoc said. He and Breda left the room as Roy redirected his gaze at Fuery.

"Have another car get as close to them as possible and I'm sure it won't be too much of a fucking bother for them to walk to it and ride here," Roy said, a bit rougher than he really wanted to.

"Yes, sir. One of his men is here. I'll have him do it."

Roy narrowed his eyes. "If one of his men is here, then why didn't the General just walk as well?"

"I'm not sure, Sir," Fuery said. "My guess is that his bodyguards probably wouldn't let him."

Roy knew that was bull but refrained from saying such. Grumman took long walks in the morning with his bodyguards. Sometimes even General Grumman made him hate the higher-ups. He vowed never to be like those men. Then again, if he got to that rank and acted like that, Riza would probably beam him with something.

"Fine, have Grumman's man drive another car to them," Roy said.

Furey nodded and left the room. Roy flopped backward, hitting in his chair roughly, causing it to creek harshly. He reached out, picked up the phone, and dialed the direct number to the range instead of following proper conduct of going through the operator. Currently, proper conduct and rules were giving him a migraine. When he heard Rebecca's voice, carrying extreme annoyance, he instantly issued orders. He knew she would recognize his voice.

"Get some guns with the rubber bullets ready and disperse them among the men," he ordered.

"They are already gathered," she said. "If that group keeps throwing crap at us and the range I'm liable to use the real bullets, court martial be damned. I can shoot well enough that they'll shit themselves and have to run home to wipe."

"Falman already got pelted with shit so I don't think they have anything left in them," Roy said. It would have been a funny moment if it weren't for the fact that he was as tense as freshly strung barbed wire. "Have they hit you or anyone at the range with anything?"

"One of ours got hit by a balloon filled with creamed corn."

"What?" He questioned, making sure that he actually heard correctly.

"Yes, creamed corn is what I said," Rebecca said.

"What else will they think up?"

"I don't know but I don't want to wait and find out."

"Just hold your team and temper until I talk to Grumman. He's on his way to headquarters."

"Will do," she said.

"I mean it Second Lieutenant," he said.

"Yeah, I'll behave."

Roy hung up the phone and within a few seconds, it rang. As soon as he heard Grumman's secretary, he quickly spoke, "I'll be there in a minute," he said then placed the receiver back on the base.

He immediately left the room and made his way up the stairs toward Grumman's office. He wanted to hurry and get this day over with, go home, and sleep. He would have already settled the incident if it weren't for the red tape that prevented him from doing so.

"He's not here yet," the secretary said as he walked into the office.

"Then why did you call me?"

"To tell you that he's on his way of course," she said.

Roy resisted the urge to strangle the girl until she was unconscious. Wasn't the woman before him smart enough to realize how busy and bothersome things were at the moment? He would have scolded the woman but really wasn't in the mood to waste needed energy.

Roy turned to leave when, as if on physical cue, Grumman walked through the door. "What's going on out there Colonel Mustang?"

"Protesters are outside and they're throwing items and various substances at our personnel."

"Come into my office," he said, walking past his secretary without as much as a glance in her direction. Mustang followed him and shut the door.

The old general walked over to the window and looked out at the protesters in front of the gates. "The crowd doesn't look incredibly large. You shouldn't have this much trouble that it would require orders from me."

"There's a regulation that states that no one lower than a General can deal with protesters without a General's permission," Roy said.

Grumman raised an eyebrow. "When did that go into effect? I don't remember such a rule."

"It's been in effect since I started academy," he said.

"It's ridiculous. You are the one that is basically running this headquarters."

"Sir, do you have any suggestions about how to take action against the protesters. It has the potential to turn violent."

"Do you have any plans yourself? To handle them peacefully of course."

"Not yet, Sir. I've ordered a few MP's out there but they are doing little good to deter the protesters. I've ordered no one to shoot. I have men immobilized with guns and rubber bullets."

"I shall go out and talk with them then. They are merely concerned and are displaying that increasingly so because no one has gone out to speak to them. A higher up going out tends to calm them down."

"How do you know that?"

"I used to be one of those protesters when I was younger. Before I got some common sense and realized it did little good in most situations. So I got into a higher position so I could really change things. Just like you yourself are trying to do."

"I see," Roy said. "Sir, you shouldn't put yourself in such a position. Please let me go out and speak with them." Roy thought about Riza for a moment. She would be objecting strongly to his suggestion if she was there.

"You haven't talked to a protesting crowd before, have you?"

"No sir, but I'm confident I can handle it."

Grumman lifted a hand to his chin and studied Mustang for a moment. "Very well, it will be good experience for you and, if all goes well, a good way to get yourself to the top even quicker. Remember that no matter what, you are to stay very calm. Also, take some bodyguards with you and have them remain at your side at all times. With Scar around, I wouldn't put it past him to using this gathering to his advantage. I know my granddaughter wouldn't be happy if you were to go out there unprote… Wait a moment. Where is my granddaughter?"

"She is taking a few sick days."

"Sick days? What's wrong with her?"

"She has the flu."

"Didn't she get a flu shot?" Grumman asked. "It's not like her not to get her vaccinations."

Roy growled inwardly, "No sir," he said calmly, reining in his frustration. He was sick of hearing that question. "I'll go get to work sir."

"I'll leave everything in your capable hands," Grumman said.

Roy nodded and left the office, intent on handling things effectively since he now had Grumman's permission to act.

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After ordering that a small platform with a microphone be set up outside so he could better talk to the crowd, which had gotten bigger since he'd been in Grumman's office, he went back to his office.

He shut and locked his door before going over to the phone and picking it up. He'd told Riza that he'd be home at lunch to see her and now he'd have to check on her by phone instead.

"How are you love?" he said, kindly, speaking first so she would know it was safe to speak. Just hearing her voice calmed him down in a way that amazed him. He really wanted to be home and cuddled up to her.

"Lousy," she said. Roy chuckled when a loud yawn left her, followed by a small whimper of pain.

"I won't be able to come home during the lunch break. There's a situation here at HQ."

"What kind of situation?" she asked, instantly awake and clearly alarmed at his use of words.

"Nothing to worry about Elizabeth," he said, making use of her codename. "You get some sleep and if you need anything you call and let me know, okay?'

"Roy…"

"Nothing to worry about," he repeated.

"Be careful," she said, "Please."

Roy was surprised aback at how frightened she sounded. "I will. I'll be fine love."

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise. I love you. Bye."

"I love you too," she said.

"I'll be okay," he reassured her again and hung up the phone. He stared at the receiver and sighed, feeling bad for worrying her. It wasn't like her to sound so panicked. Did she really think that he couldn't take care of himself? Perhaps it was just her bodyguard side reacting to not being able to do her job. She was sick and, knowing Riza, she considered herself as failing him. That was far from the case, but that didn't mean it wouldn't inhabit her thoughts.

He quickly answered the door as soon as a knock sounded upon its wooden body. Havoc entered the room, now clean of the red substance that previously stained his person. "Everything you needed is ready, chief."

Roy straightened the jacket collar and nodded, "Alright then, let's get this over with."

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Roy stepped outside the gates and cringed as the screams and shouts grew louder. The shouts of profanities and slurs from the crowd began drifting specifically toward him and his men instead of the military in general. He ascended the makeshift stage and walked in front of the microphone. Havoc and Rebecca flanked either side of him. Rebecca had, once again, violently insisted that she be one of the bodyguards near him at that time, but refused to reveal why she was so adamant about being there. Upon thinking more about the situation, Roy guessed it likely had something to do with Riza being absent.

"Everyone settle down," Roy spoke into the microphone, "and let me speak." Roy managed to dodge one of the "weapons" someone from the crowd threw. The balloon hit the stage, making a squishing noise, and decorating the wood a dark red hue. "If you won't listen then we will have no choice but to retort to your violence," Roy said.

"Is the military against peaceful protests now? You going to destroy that now too?" a man yelled.

"Peaceful? You call assaulting our soldiers with items peaceful?" Roy said.

"It's better than what you deserve for letting a maniacal killer like Scar go! Is this the military's idea of population control," one lady in the front of the crowd yelled.

Roy directed his angry stare at her. She took a step back, hitting against the people behind her. "That serial killer is killing our comrades, ma'am," he snapped. "I suggest you get your facts somewhere else other than those tabloid conspiracy theory magazines you likely read!"

"Keep your temper under control chief," Havoc said, reminding him that he shouldn't show his anger in front of the crowd or they would use it to their advantage.

"I'm perfectly calm Havoc," he said in a low manner. He took a deep breath and turned back toward the crowd. "I will try to the best of my ability to answer any questions you have about the damage. After I do so, you must leave this premises, otherwise the military will demand retribution for the damages you have caused to both its property and for your assault against our soldiers. Is that understood?"

"How about reparations for our damaged homes?" one man yelled.

"We had men come around to the areas getting damage counts. Everyone within the area had to sign papers indicating whether their property was damaged or not. The people that have experienced damage were paid or their property repaired via the taxes paid for such damages. I don't want to hear from people who just want a quick buck from the military," Roy said, his anger increasing. He hated it when people only thought about money when there were more important things to focus on.

"Innocent civilians have died because you haven't caught Scar yet," a woman yelled.

Roy turned in the direction of the yell. "Once again, stop reading the tabloids and anti-government newspapers. No civilians have been injured or killed by Scar." It was a bit of a lie on his part, but regardless of Alphonse's damage, he was pretty close to being military, only lacking the paperwork. The young man would have been military if it hadn't been for the fact that he didn't have a body.

"That's not what the papers said!"

"Didn't you hear what I just said? I told you not to pay attention to the papers! How would reporters know anything when we haven't even had a press conference or let any reporters around the areas?" He thought that it was pathetic how people believed everything that the reporters wrote as if it was some sort of gospel. "If we let the newspapers or magazines know anything, it would compromise any chances of actually catching Scar."

"Liar!" a voice screamed, the lilts that of pure agony. Before Roy knew what was happening, several loud bangs sounded throughout the area. Following the sickening sound, a few protesters and officers fell to the ground, and remained motionless. The rest of the crowd began screaming in horror, running from the scene and willing to scamper over each other to get out of the way. They had no concern for anything or anyone, thinking only of their self-preservation.

When more shots rang out, Roy felt something glance off his cheek, followed by a burning sensation. With another shot, he felt as if someone was stabbing his right upper arm with a red-hot fire hook. Within moments, Havoc and Rebecca had knocked him off the stage to protect him. He hit the ground with an acerbic thud, his forehead head hitting a small rock residing behind the stage.

"Sir! Colonel Mustang!" Rebecca yelled over the gunfire. She helped Roy turn onto his back and sit up. She saw that his arm, face, and head were bleeding and leaking out onto his skin in thin dark red streams and staining his uniform that dark blue sickening color she could never get used to.

"Riza is going to kill me," she muttered but also thanking her lucky stars that he was conscious. If he would have died, Riza would be completely devastated.

"My wife died by Scar's hands! How about the civilians left behind! Don't you bastard's care?" The man who was firing the shots had an empty look in his tear dispersing eyes. His cheeks were sunken, a sign of starvation, and his eyes toted black circles beneath them. He fired off more rounds in his weapon then grabbed one of the soldiers by the stage that had taken cover. "I'll kill one of your own in retribution for my wife!"

Roy could understand where the man was coming from, but taking another life in retribution wasn't right. Of course, he was probably experiencing so much grief that he wasn't thinking rationally. He would be the same way if something like this happened to Riza.

He reached up to touch the side of his head, and brought his hand down to see blood drifting over the white fabric of his gloves. He started to stand but Havoc stopped him. "Chief, you shouldn't be getting up." Roy got to his knees and cursed when he realized that one glove was wet with his blood and his other hand had, "oh so conveniently" he thought with sarcasm, fallen into a puddle of water.

"Why aren't you excreting flames or whatever the hell it is that you do?" Rebecca asked.

"My gloves are wet!" He growled.

"You are so useless when water's around!"

Roy ignored her and turned to Havoc, "Give me your lighter."

Havoc handed it to him. Roy quickly pulled off his gloves and touched his bleeding head with one hand. He closed his eyes for a moment in an attempt to steady the spinning world around him, before quickly drawing an array on top of his hand. "I'm going to send fire toward the guy, when he's distracted shoot the gun out of his hand."

"Why not center the flame at just the guy? I've seen you aim chief."

"I could with my gloves but this is a mere backup so I can't fully control it." He left out the fact that his world was currently spinning like a dreidel. He turned to Rebecca. "I'm counting on you."

"Right," she said, "I won't let you down."

They both took up positions behind the stage. "Unless the Flame Alchemist comes out! I'll kill this man! I want the death of the flame alchemist. He should have caught Scar before he killed my wife!" The man was now frantic, twisting and turning around the area looking for something moving so he could shoot it.

Roy squeezed his eyes tightly trying to get his bearings. The world around him was spinning even quicker and his stomach lurching as if he'd just gotten off of an amusement park ride.

After opening them, he took a deep breath. "Rebecca, on three. One . . . two . . . three!"

Rebecca and Roy jerked up, Roy stuck the lighter and flames shot out toward the man, but were further away from him than he intended. He cursed as his dizziness took over, altering his aim. Weakness blanketed him and he fell backward just as Rebecca managed to shoot the gun out of the man's hand. The officer his grasp flipped the man over his shoulder and onto the hard concrete.

"Call some ambulances immediately!" Rebecca yelled.

The MP's acted quickly, restraining the man while some tending to the victims. Within minutes, the headquarters medics were on the scene. One rushed over to Roy and examined him. "We can't do much for him until we get him to a hospital. The ambulances are on their way," he said as he began tending to Mustang's wounds.

Rebecca looked at him, concern on her face. Havoc came over to sit beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. He's had worse," Havoc reassured her.

Rebecca nodded to him and turned back toward Mustang. "Colonel, you stay with us."

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**AN: Note that MP's are military policeman. People frequently ask me what they are. Hope you enjoyed it and please review. Next chapter will be posted on February 6****th. **


	57. Relationships

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 57: Relationships**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. **

**AN: Early chapter for you guys. I figured since I have it done I might as well post early. I hope you enjoy it. This is dedicated to Kagura the Wind Gypsy and my friend Teal'c Rooter.  
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**Relationships **

Havoc and Rebecca followed the medics as they rushed through the doors of the hospital and down the hall. The gurney carrying Roy, clicked and squeaked vehemently as it rushed across the linoleum floors, adding sound effects to accentuate the urgency of the situation. The medics weren't frantic as they worked, which was of a slight comfort and a sign that Roy wasn't injured enough to cause extreme alarm.

They stopped when they came to the double doors adorned with signs declaring that no unauthorized personnel were allowed beyond. They stopped and stood there as the door swung open and shut back, hitting against each other with a thud and scrape that made Rebecca cringe.

"Come on," Havoc said, "there's a waiting room over here."

As soon as she walked inside the room, Rebecca felt like her stomach was trying to punch through her abdomen. "God it stinks in here," she said.

"What are you talking about? There's nothing in here to stink."

"You'd think if hospitals were going to clean they'd clean with something that was a less strong smell."

"Ah, you don't like the hospital smell."

She crinkled her nose and sat down in one of the green and brown chairs against the wall. "No, it's sickening. I'd rather smell a rotting corpse."

"You just have to get used to it."

"Well tough, I don't plan on doing that. I'll keep out of hospitals as much as possible thank you very much."

Havoc chuckled and sat down across from her. "Well I hope you can do that," he said.

Rebecca didn't reply, choosing instead to just sit quietly. The smell wasn't the only thing getting to her. Her adrenaline wearing off and the full brunt of realization that she failed her friend came to the forefront of her mind. She said she'd take care of Roy and now there he was, injured in the hospital. Riza was going to hate her when she found out. Her friend was already sick and finding out what happened was going to make her increasingly miserable. Yes, she was a horrible friend indeed. She propped her elbow upon the arm of the chair and leaned against her hand. Her eyes flew up to look at the clock on the wall and lost focus as she stared at the hands, blocking out everything around her.

--

"Hey… hey… Rebecca!" she heard a voice say through the fog of her thoughts. She came back to reality and saw that nearly an hour passed. She directed her gaze over to the source of the voice.

"What do you want?"

"Do you think we should call Hawkeye and tell her what happened to the Chief?"

Rebecca straightened in her seat, mentally damning him to the hottest pits of hell for mentioning the topic that she'd considered temporarily taboo. She crossed her legs for a moment before uncrossing them directly after in favor of scooting further back against her chair. "I think we should wait until we see what kind of condition the Colonel's in before we try to tell Riza."

"What if someone else tells her?"

"She's at home in bed and I doubt that anyone has the guts to go there and tell her in person. I don't even think anyone has the guts to call and tell her. Besides, they don't know everything and are so busy they probably wouldn't even think of calling her. Not to mention that we are the only ones that know Riza sees being his bodyguard as more than just a job. Then there is –-"

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself of that?" Havoc interrupted her.

She heaved a sigh, "both."

"Thought so. We'll wait. What you said is good reasoning even though you weren't really trying." He reached into his jacket and took out his lighter, causing Rebecca to cast him a stern look.

"You can't smoke in a hospital Havoc."

"I know that," he said. "I wasn't going to smoke. Do you see a cigarette in my mouth?"

"No, but I just assumed that . . ." She trailed off.

"You aren't supposed to assume things. Your training taught you that," Havoc teased.

"Oh, just forget what I said," she said, then huffed and crossed her arms.

"Will do."

Havoc flipped open the top of the lighter with a flick of his wrist then closed it back with another jerk. He repeated this action several times, the clicking outcome the most dominate sound in the room. Rebecca kept her dark gaze glued on the lighter, reasoning that he was doing that to alleviate the nervousness he felt. She wondered if any of that nervousness stemmed from being alone with her.

Their relationship, what they had of one, had become awkward. They always disparaged and sparred with each other, but it was all in good fun. They were comrades and tended to get along as far as that went, but lately a thick fog of tension hung over them. Ever since that kiss in the alley during the mission, their relationship was a bit more distant. He never showed any intimation that he wanted the incident mentioned, so she hadn't brought it up.

Her eyes drifted to his face so that she could further study her blond comrade. Only a woman with horrible taste in men would find him unattractive. If women had any sense at all, they'd pick Havoc over Roy Mustang. She questioned her Riza's taste in men when it came to Havoc verses Roy. Of course, she knew Riza was in love with Roy and love added to a man's appeal. Why Riza loved Roy Mustang was beyond her reasoning.

She couldn't find any horrible faults in Havoc's personality. He was funny, intelligent in things that actually mattered, and modest. If anything really counted against him, it would be the fact he smoked. Of course, that could be fixed with a few of the latest antismoking remedies. She didn't really mind the cigarettes. Growing up with her father as a frequent smoker, she grew accustomed to the acrid burn from second hand smoke as it drifted to the eyes and nose, and learned to ignore the thick smoky taste of cigarette tar in her food.

Havoc directed his blue gaze toward her and she gripped the sides of her chair, withholding the urge to jump upon his abrupt action. "Something wrong?"

"What do you mean? Why do you ask?"

"You were staring at me."

"No I wasn't."

"Yes you were. I know when someone's eyes are on me."

"I wasn't looking at you. I was looking at your lighter." It was a lie of course but it would be mortifying if he knew the truth. "The clicking is getting on my nerves," she said, trying to take away from the strange, heartbeat increasing tension that his blue stare brought to her body.

"Oh," he said and looked away from her. He made no move to stop the actions that caused the noise to come from the lighter.

"Aren't you going to stop doing that?" she asked.

He didn't look at her as he spoke his next words. "You didn't ask me to."

"A gentleman would stop if a lady said that it was getting on her nerves," she said.

"You are a comrade, not a lady, so I see no reason to stop what I'm doing. You've dealt with worse."

Rebecca crossed her arms and huffed, looking away from him so he wouldn't see any hurt that might cross her features. While a part of her valued the fact he saw her as a comrade, she wanted him to see her as a woman as well. The reality that he didn't see her as a lady made her feel not only hurt but also angry. Well, if he didn't think she was a lady then she wouldn't bother acting like one.

When she heard another click, she stood, stomped over to him, jerked the lighter out of his hand, and shoved it in her pocket.

"Hey, give me that back."

"No, she said, "you are getting on my nerves with it. I'll give it back before I leave."

He stood up and stared down at her. Rebecca couldn't push down the intimidation she felt by his height over her, and damned her genetics for not making her the 6'1 that he was. Of course, she'd then have another disparaging name regarding her height, in addition to the other creative and sometimes hurtful names that people called her behind her back. It was one of the things she actually liked about Mustang; he wasn't a backbiter. He called her harpy and other names straight to her face and she doubted he meant his insults for the most part. She actually didn't mean hers as much as she led him to believe. She didn't fully like him as a person but recognized that he would be good for the country. If she didn't see that, then she wouldn't be following him.

Havoc held out his hand. "Give me my lighter."

"No," she said.

"You'd better or you'll be sorry," he threatened.

"That sounds like a threat made by a first grader. Oh well, I shouldn't be surprised."

"What do you mean by that?"

"First grader's IQ matches yours perfectly."

"Well you sound like a teacher. An old old old old old old teacher."

"You take that back," she snapped and took a step toward him. Her head arched upward and her eyes narrowed at him. She tried to limit her breathing and slow it down because he smelled so damn good. Whatever he was wearing was working for him in its goal of wavering her resolve to win the argument presenting itself.

"Ha! Fat chance of getting me to do that. You have a better chance of getting a lover and that's saying a lot," he said, lowering his face so that it was closer to hers.

"That's the pot calling the kettle metal!"

"It's black!" he snapped

"What?"

"It's the pot calling the kettle black!"

"Whatever. My point is that your scorecard with the opposite sex isn't exactly filled with high numbers!"

Havoc growled. "At least mine isn't in the negatives.

Rebecca was confused at how their conversation directed toward this, but then again, when she and Havoc were concerned, nothing ever made sense.

Rebecca huffed. "At least I've been kissed in the past six months!" she yelled.

"Ha! And I was the one that did it so…" He trailed off when he realized what words left his mouth.

She blushed and looked away as his words drifted into the air and squalled right into the room's atmosphere. "Yeah, you were," she said softly.

Havoc looked away from her and sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "And nothing can ever come from it. Can it?" He sat down roughly.

Rebecca shook her head and sat down in the chair beside him. "No," she said. "We both know that and I think that's why we've been so awkward with each other."

"So you've noticed too huh?"

She laughed bitterly, "Yeah."

"Damn fraternization laws."

She turned her head, "Are you saying that you'd ask me out if it weren't for them?"

"Would you go out with me if I were to do it? If the laws weren't in effect?" he asked.

Rebecca resisted the urge to tell him that she would even with the laws in place but knew they just couldn't risk getting caught. They needed to work toward helping Mustang, and she knew that Havoc was the second most dedicated person toward that goal: Riza being the first.

"Probably. I heard your family is loaded so you'd check off three on my list."

Havoc chuckled. "Not loaded but we are well off. My family has a chain of shops."

"I see."

"So money is that important?"

"Yes. I mean that doesn't mean I'm going to get together with someone just for their money. It helps of course.

"Okay, this list. What other specifications do I fit?"

Rebecca's face turned red and she stammered to answer. She couldn't very well tell the truth. She was fortunate when Breda entered the room, interrupting the conversation before it could go further.

"Hey, how's the Colonel," Breda asked when he stopped to stand in front of them. The two military policemen that were walking behind him, stopped as well. Then stood at ease.

"We haven't heard anything yet," Rebecca answered.

"He's been back there about an hour and a half," Havoc said.

Breda nodded and motioned for the MP's to take a seat before sitting down himself. "The Colonel will have to be kept under guard of course, because of Scar."

Havoc and Rebecca nodded, a sense of guilt washing over them because of Mustang being in the hospital. If they'd reacted quicker, as Riza would have done, he might not be there. In fact, it was likely Riza would have made sure he wasn't out there in the first place.

---

The next two hours were quiet, with only the sporadic short conversations between Havoc and Breda breaking up the dullness. Rebecca tried to read a magazine but quickly grew annoyed with all the airbrushed models trying to tell her how they lost weight on some diet plan when they were never overweight to begin with. She threw it down on the table angrily, getting the attention of the men in the room. Before anyone said anything, the doctor entered.

They stood as he walked over to them.

"How is he doctor?" Rebecca asked.

"He's going to be fine. He regained consciousness about an hour ago and is moving around pretty well. He's lots a lot of blood and will have to take it easy with his arm for a few months, but he should be fine. We are going to keep him here for a few days just to make sure."

"Can we see him?" Havoc asked.

"Yes, he's in room two hundred. Give the nurses time to clear out before going inside." He motioned to the two MP's, "Guards?"

"Yes sir, they are required to be with him due to circumstances around the city," Breda said.

He nodded. "I understand. I'm quite used to seeing them around."

---

After shifting to try to get comfortable in the hospital bed, Roy gave up. The nurses around him had been so preoccupied with flirting that they didn't notice the back of his bed was upright at a high angle. He tried to lay back but cringed as pain shot through the back of his head and extended out to the sides and down to his neck. He moved to shift on his side only to have his pillow fall behind him before he could rest his head against it. Growling, he reached to pull the latch that lowered the bed and the entire thing fell flat.

"Damn it," he cursed. He jerked his right arm down to the latch while pulling the head of the bed up with his left hand. When a jolt of burning ascended his injured arm, which was useless until the wound healed, he cursed again. He grabbed the pillow, slammed it down on the mattress, and lay down on it roughly, burying his face in the fabric. He had a stupid bed, stupid luck, and stupid injuries that he attained from a stupid protest. Everything in life that day was stupid.

He heard the door to his room open and hoped it wasn't another stupid nurse. He cursed the stupid creak on the stupid door as it sounded.

"Sir?" He recognized Rebecca's voice.

"Speaking of stupid," he muttered but then instantly took it back. She saved his neck today. Damn it, he owed the harpy.

"Hey, Chief? Are you conscious?"

"Yes," he said, his voice muffled by his pillow.

"Why are you laying so flat?" Rebecca asked.

Roy turned slowly and sat up. "Because the damned nurses put the bed up at such an angle I couldn't get comfortable. So I tried to set it down a bit, only to have it fall flat."

Rebecca walked over to him and lifted the lever on the bed as Havoc adjusted it so Roy would be reclining comfortably. "Thanks," he said as he laid back.

"Welcome," Rebecca said.

"We are glad you are alright Chief," Havoc said, "you had us worried."

"What time is it?" Roy asked. "There's no clock in here."

Breda glanced down at his wristwatch. "It's five o' clock. The doctor said you were unconscious for a while."

Roy nodded. "It figures. Aren't I lucky?" His tone was a mix of anger and sarcasm. He sighed when the three other officers in the room took a step back. "Sorry, I have a lot on my mind."

"Understandably," Rebecca said.

"How did everything go regarding the shooter?"

"We took him into custody and he's in lock up," Breda said and sat down in a chair across from Roy's bed.

"There's something more important we need to get to. That ass can wait," Rebecca said.

"What? What's more important than getting an insane man locked up?" Breda asked.

Rebecca looked at Roy. "Wouldn't you say that there is a person that we need to notify about your . . . condition?"

Roy's eyes widened and his skin turned a shade paler. "Shit! I completely forgot!"

"Well, should we call her then?" Breda asked.

"I don't think Riza would be very thrilled if she got a telephone call saying that the Colonel was injured," Rebecca said. "We also need to take into consideration that she's sick. You know she'd likely try to come here and that wouldn't be good for her."

"Are you saying that we should go tell her in person?" Havoc asked.

"Not we, me. Since I'm her best friend, I'll be the one to break the news."

"I didn't know you were suicidal," said Breda.

"Oh, shove it," she snapped, "I just need to find out where she lives. She hasn't exactly revealed that information to me. It's amazing how she can be so secretive about her personal life."

"I think it's a good idea that you tell her in person. Havoc can drive you there," Roy said.

Rebecca looked at Havoc. "Just how do you know where she lives when I am her best friend and don't have a clue?"

"I drove the Chief and Hawkeye home the day she collapsed," Havoc said.

Rebecca looked at Roy. "You mean you live near each other?"

"In the same building," Roy said as a feeling of unease came over him. Rebecca was looking at him strangely, as if there was something festering behind her eyes, in that brain of hers.

"Is that so? That's odd."

Breda shrugged. "I don't see what's so odd about it." He looked over at Roy and grinned, an indication he was going to get Rebecca off his back a bit. "I mean Hawkeye is his aide and bodyguard. It's nothing unusual for them to live near each other."

"I'm just surprised that Riza hasn't mentioned it," she said.

Roy coughed, realizing that Rebecca was getting a bit suspicious. "She didn't mention where she lived and doesn't mention much about her personal life. What makes you think that it's unusual for her not mentioning we lived near each other?"

Rebecca shrugged. "Yeah, I supposed you are right I guess. Anyway, what's her apartment number?"

"It's four-forty-nine," he said then quickly altered his statement. "I mean four-forty-eight. Apartment four-forty-nine is my place. In all actuality, it was the reverse but he remembered Riza was at his apartment.

"Wow, across from each other too? That's quite a coincidence."

"Yes, it is. There was a vacancy in the building and Hawkeye let me know since I hadn't found a place at the time. I was staying in a hotel." The fact was that it took looking at three different places to find such a "coincidence".

"Oh, I see. Well then, we should be off. Do you want us to bring her here after we tell her? For a visit?"

"Of course not. If you bring her here, we'd have to call out the army before we could get her to go home. Keep her there. I'll be fine."

"Okay. If I can keep her there, then I will."

"I don't care if you have to tie her to something. Don't let her out of there until she's better."

"Of course," Rebecca said.

When she left the room, Breda looked at Roy and spoke. "Do you think she can actually do that? Tie her up I mean."

"Not a chance in hell," Roy said.

"You could call them back and just not tell her."

"Considering we live across from each other, she'd know if I haven't been home," he said.

"Yeah, I hadn't thought of that."

"I'll let Rebecca handle it. I'm sure she's perfectly capable."

"I can't do this Havoc. There's no way in hell! I'm terrified!" Rebecca exclaimed. She and Havoc were still sitting in the car. They were parked outside of the apartment building; Rebecca was poised to go up but then froze when her hand hit the handle of the door.

"You told the Chief that you could do this. Breda said you were being suicidal but you didn't listen." He tried not to laugh at the woman across from him and tried not to tease her. He succeeded at not letting his humor show through but failed miserably at the not teasing part. He knew well that Hawkeye wouldn't kill anyone.

"Okay," Rebecca said, "let's go back. We can just call her and tell her."

"You know we can't. Like you said, if we called her she'd try to go see the Chief and that wouldn't be good for her. Either way, we are here and you are going to go up and tell her."

"I'd rather face down enemies with guns than tell Riza that Mustang is injured and in the hospital. We have a better chance of surviving with a gang of gunmen!"

"You know she's not going to kill you. Now go."

"I think I forgot the apartment number so you should do it," she said.

"Sorry Rebecca. You dug your hole, you put your coffin in it," he said.

She looked at him oddly. "What?"

"It's an old saying."

"I've never heard that one."

"It means you have created the situation, and now you have to live with the results," he said.

"You really got that saying wrong. It is, 'as you make your bed, so you must lie in it.'"

"Whatever. Look, you go up to her apartment and if you aren't back in thirty minutes, I'll come in after you."

"You'd do that?"

'Yep," he said. "I would have probably volunteered for telling her if you hadn't."

"No you wouldn't have. You are too chicken."

"Go, there's nothing to be afraid of."

"That's easy to say. It's different when the hat is on the other head."

"It's, shoe is on the other foot."

"Whatever," she said and took a deep breath. "Okay, I can do this. I know I can."

"Yes, you can. Besides, you've told her worse things than this before, right?"

She lifted her hands to her head. "Oh damn. I'm going to die. I haven't told her anything like this. Nothing even resembling it. The man she obviously loves is in the hospital with injuries. We were supposed to protect him and look what happened. She can't really count on us for anything can she? She asked me to keep an eye on him. I failed her and now she's going to choke me within an inch of my life until I try to beg for mercy."

"Come on, you know she's not going to do that."

"Maybe not normally but I never know when it comes into relation with Mustang."

"I suppose. She's dead set on protecting him. We really did screw up, didn't we?"

Rebecca nodded and the two sat there in silence for a few minutes.

"You know, even if she does happen to try to kill us. We own it to her to tell her what happened in person."

"There's no we. You are the one that volunteered," he said.

Rebecca glared at him so darkly that he pushed back against the car door and held up his hands. "Okay okay! I'll go up with you," he said.

"Thank you!" she said, as if the look never came from her and he'd volunteered without any prodding.

"I swear you owe me for this."

"Yeah, yeah. Okay. I'll give you anything you want,' she said but then blushed. "Well, not...' um..." she quickly opened the door and rushed out of the car."Let's go," she said and shut the door before he could say anything in response.

---

Riza groaned loudly as the third knock hit on the door, sounding like someone was kicking it rather than knocking with their hand. She covered her head with the blankets and hoped they'd leave, however, after several more insistent knocks, she cursed and sat up slowly. After pushing the covers off her, she swung her legs over the side of the bed. When her feet hit down on the cool floor, it caused waves of chills that seemed to branch out from her feet, up her legs and to her torso and limbs.

She grabbed her robe and tied it around her tightly, before making her way to the door, holding on to the wall for support as she ventured down the hallway. Glancing at the clock on the way, she saw that it was past time for work to be over and reasoned that it was Roy arriving home. Perhaps he lost his key or left it at work. She grasped the knob and looked through the peephole just in case it was someone else. A gasp left her lips when she saw that it was Havoc and Rebecca standing before the door.

"Riza! Come get the door!" Rebecca yelled, as if she could actually be heard from other places in the apartment. Obviously, Roy must have told them she was there, otherwise they wouldn't know. They shouldn't even know the apartment numbers.

Riza unlocked the door and opened it for her two friends. She instantly went into alert when she noticed their postures were unnatural and carried a burden of nervousness. "Where's the Colonel?" They tensed up even further with the inquiry, sending up another red flag.

"Um..." Rebecca started. "Can we come in?"

"Did something happen to the Colonel?" Her stomach tightened and her arms tingled, now from dread instead of the cold. She moved aside to let the two of them in before shutting the door. "Did something happen? Why isn't he with you?" She tried her best to hide the panic in her voice but a feeling so dominate couldn't be quenched completely.

Rebecca grabbed her arm and smiled halfheartedly. "Let's go into the living room."

Riza wanted to shake her friend. "Did something--"

"He's fine Riza," Rebecca said. "Where's the living room?"

Riza motioned her head to the left. "It's over there."

"Good, good." She helped Riza inside and they sat down on the couch. Havoc took a chair at a small desk, a good distance away from the two female lieutenants.

"Riza . . . Mustang was . . . Um . . . the Colonel is in . . ." Rebecca stuttered.

"The Chief got hurt during the protests and is in the hospital," Havoc said, and visibly tensed as if he was preparing to dodge something.

"What!" Riza shouted and stood up quickly. She lifted one hand to her stomach as if trying to stave off the food in it from ascending up and out of her body. Another hand moved to her forehead, a reflex from what had become the familiar feeling of the world spinning around repeatedly.

Rebecca stood and guided Riza to sit back down. Riza looked at her. "Please Becca, is he alright?"

"Riza, I told you that he's fine," she said. "They're only going to keep him for a few days. He has a mild head injury and lost some blood."

"Did he get shot or fall or. . . What happened?" Riza hated the way she sounded but when Roy was concerned, she didn't care as long as he was okay.

"He got shot in the upper arm and grazed along his cheek. When we knocked him off the stage, he hit his head."

"Stage? What stage?"

"He was talking to the protesters outside on a makeshift stage when a guy opened fire. His wife was a state alchemist killed by Scar and he blamed the military. Specifically he called out Mustang."

"Why in the hell was he out there anyway?"

"He was talking to the crowd, like I said."

"Grumman usually does that," she snapped.

Mustang decided to handle it," Rebecca said.

Riza narrowed her eyes, causing the other woman to scoot as far away from her as possible without falling off the couch. "Just why did he do that?" Riza's voice was low, foretelling a good beating was coming to Mustang when they both got better. It was likely Mustang would be making a return trip to the hospital.

"I. . . I have no idea," Rebecca stuttered.

"Is he insane?" Riza yelled, her voice cracking and breaking under the pressure placed upon her vocal cords. She lifted a hand to her throat and winced. "What if Scar would have shown up? What was he thinking?"

"I don't know that either. But he had lots of bodyguards with him. Havoc and I were on stage."

"Yeah, you guys did your jobs real well," Riza snapped before she thought better of it. She instantly sighed and shook her head when she saw Havoc and Rebecca's guilty looks. "I'm sorry, I didn't' mean that. I'm just not. . . I'll go to the hospital."

"He told us not to let you come," Rebecca said.

"What? Why?"

She rolled her eyes. "Let me see. I wonder. Could it be because you can barely stand and talk? Actually, you should be in bed."

"I wouldn't be able to rest knowing he's in there."

"Look, your lover boy will be fine. He will be out in a few days. The doctor said he'll have to rest his arm a bit though."

"Rebecca, he's not my lover boy."

"Yeah, and Havoc doesn't smoke."

"Going back on topic," Havoc stated, and then muttered a few words under his breath before speaking audibly. "He'll need you in at your best Hawkeye. You can't get better and back into top condition if you go out in the weather we are having right now. You should stay in bed and get some sleep. Rebecca and I will go check on the Chief for the next few days. And he's under twenty-four hour guard so he's protected."

"He's right," Rebecca said. "And don't forget that Scar won't likely run the risk of actually going into a hospital after him. He'd hurt too many civilians to get close to him."

Riza looked down at her lap. "I don't like it when you two team up."

Havoc and Rebecca stared at each other for a minute then looked at Riza quizzically. "What?" they both asked.

"When you two team up, too much common sense comes out. Can't say I was expecting that."

"So you will stay here until you are better?" Rebecca asked.

"Yes, if you promise to check on the colonel for me and then call me."

"I'll do better than that," Rebecca said, "I'll come here and tell you myself. Maybe I can even get him to a phone to call you."

Riza smiled softly and nodded, "Okay. I'll stay here."

"Good," Rebecca said. "Now, tell me where the kitchen is and I'll make you a cup of tea before we leave."

Riza laughed, "I can do that."

"You can barely stand," Rebecca said. "Where's the kitchen?"

"Hey, I thought you don't cook. You look haunted when we asked if you could fix coffee," Havoc said.

"Right, coffee and cooking," Rebecca said. Her eyes took on the creepy look once again, not fixated on anything. "I don't cook and coffee pots are evil."

"But you make tea?"

Rebecca looked at him and nodded. "Yes, I make tea! I wouldn't have offered if I didn't. Any idiot can make tea."

"Enough said," Havoc replied and turned to examine the items on the desk beside him.

"The kitchen is right acr--"

"Hey, this is the chief's journal isn't it?" Havoc asked, picking up a black book. "Oh, his gloves are here too."

"Why wouldn't they be? This is his place after all," Riza replied.

Havoc and Rebecca jerked their heads toward her, their eyes broad and their mouths dropped open.

"Then why are you here?" they both asked at the same time.

Riza tensed. Oh god, Roy didn't tell them that she was here. They must have thought. . . "

"Mustang said your apartment was apartment four-forty-eight and this is that place. He said his was four-forty-nine," Havoc said.

Riza began sorting through possible excuses in her brain, organizing them into neat little piles like one would organize laundry. Finally, the one that went into the washer, so to speak, came forth from her. "He must have gotten mixed up. He's staying over in my place until I get better."

"Why?" Rebecca asked.

"Um..."

Hayate barked and Riza looked over at her pup sitting in front of the warm fire. "His fireplace," she said, making a mental note to buy Hayate the biggest steak she could find. When her brain wasn't functioning correctly, she could always count on her dog to help her out. The cute little puppy really was a lifesaver.

"Huh?" Rebecca said.

"Well, I don't have a fireplace in my bedroom. And since I don't, it tends to stay really cold in there."

"Don't you have a radiator heater?"

"It's not working very well in the bedroom. The Colonel didn't want me sleeping in such a cold room so he let me stay here until I could recover well enough. He's actually supposed to fix my radiator for me using alchemy," Riza said. At least part of that statement was true. Roy really was supposed to fix the heater there. However, they spent limited time in that room since his bed was far more comfortable than the one back in her apartment.

"Okay, then. . ." Rebecca trailed off, as if she was suspicious of something. "Kitchen?"

"What?" Riza asked.

"Where's the kitchen?"

"Right across the hallway," Riza said. "The pot should be on the counter and the tea is in a metal tin on the top of the fridge."

"You know his kitchen awfully well," Rebecca said.

"Um . . . well. . . He told me where things were," Riza stated.

"Well, I'll get to making that tea," she said and left the room. She looked over and offered Havoc a small smile.

"I was almost expecting you to just come out and confess the truth," he said. "You stammered for a cover story a few times."

"What? I did tell her the truth," she said.

"The Chief doesn't get many visitors here does he?"

Riza was taken aback at the off topic question. "Why ask that?"

Because he writes interesting things on his desk calendar and doesn't use codes," Havoc replied and looked at her knowingly. "You guys do a good job of hiding it in the office. It's just like you are bodyguard and boss, but there's always an underlying friendship with you. I didn't realize how deep your relationship went. It makes sense though. You are like a wife to him at the office. It's just I didn't think I'd learn this way."

Riza's eyes slowly widened when she heard the wife part leave his lips. God he couldn't know. What was on Roy's calendar that would tip him off? It couldn't' be happening. No one could find out or they would be in danger. Before Riza could open her mouth to inquire further information regarding the words, he spoke.

"You know, your six year wedding anniversary is coming up . . . right?"

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**AN: Longest chapter I've written in a while. Hope you liked it and please drop a review. They are much appreciated and very encouraging. New chapter coming very soon. **


	58. Illness of Preconceptions

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess  
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**Chapter 58: Illness of Preconceptions**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit for this fiction. I do own my idea and whatever small original characters that may appear. Any resemblance of original character to anyone, living or dead, is purely coincidental. **

**AN: This chapter is dedicated to ACW. For acw's birthday and since the response last chapter was extremely surprising, I decided to post a week early. You still get a new chapter next week as well. Hope you really enjoy this chapter. For readers of my royai fic, Vacuous Heart of Blood, the chapter will remain on schedule for tomorrow.  
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**Illness of Preconceptions**

When she walked into the kitchen, Rebecca was extremely surprised to find that it wasn't messy. She let her gaze drift around the black and white room. There was no trash bin running over, and no stains on the floor. The dishes were all put up in the cabinets save for a set of four matching mugs lined across the counter top and in front of them was a small black and silver teapot. There were some daisies on the table and all of the chairs were pushed in their proper places. She always thought that Roy Mustang would be a slob, but she would now have to strike that out of the list of preconceived notions she had about him. Of course, that didn't mean that she had to strike off the parts about his ego. Nor would she have to end her wondering about what a humble woman like Riza saw in him.

She shook her head and walked over to the teapot. After filling it with water and sitting it on the stove, she moved to get the tea. She reached up into the cabinet at the top of the fridge and found the tea in the exact type of tin that Riza had described. Bringing it over to the counter, she sat it down and lifted the rectangular lid, and was surprised to find a piece of light blue paper. She opened it and began reading the messy scrawl. With every single word, her hands began to sweat and she could feel her face grow colder. The letter, or more accurately poem, was written to Riza and ended with "love Roy". This poem wasn't just a simple "roses are red" prose, but one written so beautifully and with such dedication that she couldn't believe the man actually penned it.

So, the two of them were lovers and it was evident they were very much in love. Apparently, Roy Mustang had more redeeming qualities than she ever thought was possible. She folded the letter and stuck it in her pocket, making note to confront Riza about it before they left, preferably away from Havoc. If Riza and Roy could pull off a relationship, who was to say that she and Havoc didn't have a chance to do the same.

She scooped the tea into the mugs and waited for the water to get hot. When the pot began whistling, she poured it into the mugs. After searching for some sugar, which was an easy find thanks to the sugar pot sitting beside the sink, she slowly lifted the tray and made her way back towards the living room. She walked through the door and felt like something punched her in the stomach when she heard Havoc's words.

"You know, your six year wedding anniversary is coming up . . . right?"

Her wrists and fingers lost all of their strength and the tray went tumbling to the floor. The tea rushed over the hardwood floor the one of the mugs shattered. Riza and Havoc turned to her, Havoc looking surprised and Riza looking like her worst nightmare was happening.

"Ma . . . wed . . . mar . . ." Rebecca stuttered, and then took a step back.

"Becca . . . I . . ."

"What in the hell does he mean wedding anniversary?" Rebecca stalked over to him, not giving Riza a chance to answer. "What do you mean?" she asked grabbing his collar.

"The calendar," he said.

Rebecca pushed him out of the way and glanced at the calendar on the desk. Her posture slouched as she saw the mark on the date. "Wedding anniversary." She glared at Riza. "Wedding anniversary?" she repeated, her tone furious. "Is Roy Mustang married?" Riza knew she was being condescending and for a moment wanted to punch out her best friend and say everything that happened was all a dream.

Riza nodded and looked down at her lap as if she was a child being scolded.

"And just _**who**_ is he married _**to**_?" she asked. She growled, as if she didn't already know the answer to the question.

"Becca . . . I couldn't." She grabbed a tissue from the coffee table and began coughing into it. She felt like there was some sort of ooze drifting up into her throat. "Tell . . ." she finished.

"Who!" she yelled and folded her arms over her chest.

"Damn it! I'm here in his apartment. . ." Riza took in a deep breath. "Who in the hell do you think he's married to?"

"For six years?" Rebecca's anger left her.

Riza groaned and moved her hand up hold her forehead. There was no use trying to get out of telling them. As much as she tried to find some reason why it would be there, there was nothing coming. She looked toward Hayate, who was looking at her pitifully, as if apologizing that he had no solution either. He walked over to her and rested his head on her lap in a comforting gesture. "Yes. Six years."

"All this time and you never said anything," Riza looked up with wide eyes when she noticed that Rebecca's tone indicated she was hurt.

"Becca, I couldn't tell you. It would have —"

"I get it," she interrupted. "You didn't trust me right?" She walked over to the tray and mugs and knelt so that she could pick them up.

Riza stood quickly. "No! That's not it! It's the fraternization laws. Roy and I didn't want--" She stopped speaking when she felt her stomach lurch and the blood rush to her head. She moved to sit down but fell forward before she could do so, most of her strength leaving her as she acted. Havoc rushed to catch her before she hit the floor and Rebecca rushed to stand beside them.

"God, I'm sorry Riza! I didn't mean to get you upset."

Riza shook her head. "It's okay."

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" Havoc asked.

Riza shook her head then closed her eyes, trying to fight off the vertigo but it was to no avail. Her entire body felt like it was swinging around and around. Her throat felt like it was clogged with something and her breathing felt labored. Her tongue felt like she'd been out on a desert and had no water. She pushed Havoc away, ran out of the room, stumbling as she did so, she made her way to the kitchen to get some water.

Rebecca cursed and sat down on the couch. "God I didn't mean to overreact like that. It's just. . . I'm stunned."

Havoc sat down beside her and nodded. "You know we can't tell anyone else."

She glared at him, "I know that! As if I'd ever rat them out to anyone. Riza and Mustang would get into so much trouble."

"Exactly," he said.

"Huh?"

"That's why they didn't tell anyone. Not just for their sake, but ours too. You said that she didn't trust you. That's not the case. She just didn't want anyone involved because it could get others into trouble if they knew and didn't report it."

Rebecca nodded. "Yeah, I know that," she said, "I just was reacting off shock. "

"We have to help them keep this a secret now that we do know. Run some interference if we see anyone getting too close."

"I can't imagine how they kept it up this long."

"Dedication, trust, love. Take your pick or use them all."

"That was rather eloquent coming from you?"

"I can be a smooth guy," he said.

Rebecca laughed. "Yeah."

Havoc stared into her eyes before lifting a hand to touch her cheek. He trailed his knuckles along her smooth skin and leaned down to brush her lips gently with his. She closed her eyes and kissed him back, just as gently. When he pulled away, he smiled. "Go check on Hawkeye. I'll go back to the hospital and tell the chief she's going to stay home. Then come back here to take you home."

"No, you don't have to come back. I can walk or take a--"

"I'll be back," he said, and walked out of the room. She heard the door shut back with a click, indicating that he also locked the door. A frown crossed her lips. That kiss would be their last for a long time, until one of them quit the military or the frat laws were revoked. He didn't have to say anything for her to realize that's what he meant by it. The end before a beginning.

She shook her head. There were more important things to worry about; namely the woman that was extremely ill and obviously in need of help. Rebecca searched through the hallway and saw a small door that was ajar slightly. Opening it wider, she saw Riza leaning against the tiny basin in a half back. Her cheeks were flushed, and sweat was pouring off her, plastering her bangs to her forehead and soaking her robe. She was wiping her face with a wet cloth and sipping some water from the glass of liquid that she held in her other hand.

Rebecca walked over to her and knelt. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital. Havoc's gone back to check on Mustang but I can call an ambulance."

Riza shook her head. "I don't get sick often but when I do its always this bad. I'll be fine if I can lie down for a while. I do need to change clothes though."

"Do you need me to go over to your place to get you something?"

Riza shook her head. "No, just help me to the bedroom would you?"

Rebecca helped her to her feet. Riza sat glass and cloth on the sink. "I suppose you would have clothing over here right?"

"Sort of," Riza said.

Rebecca helped her out of the half-bath and down the hall. "Becca, when I feel better and when Roy gets out of the hospital, we'll tell you and Havoc what is going on with us. I ask that you please don't tell anyone."

"Don't worry," Rebecca said, "just take care of yourself first. You can trust me."

"I know I can."

They walked into the bedroom and Riza walked over to the closet. After fishing around for something to wear, she pulled out a big shirt. She grabbed the door on the closet to keep herself steady. That short walk over to the closet without anything to hold on to made her heartbeat increase the way it would if she'd just run a mile.

"That doesn't look like it will fit you," Rebecca said. "It's awfully big."

Riza didn't answer her and slowly made her way into the full bath attached to the bedroom and shut the door. It wouldn't do for Rebecca to see her tattoo after all. She leaned against the door and closed her eyes, trying to get in more air. What she was able to breath of cool air in the bathroom felt extremely refreshing to her throat. She opened her eyes and walked over to the sink. After quickly washing off with a washcloth, she slipped Roy's shirt over her head, the grey fabric falling to just above her knee. The collar drifted to the side, exposing a part of her shoulder.

When she walked out of the room, Rebecca laughed, causing her to narrow her eyes at her friend. "What's so funny?"

"You look like a child playing dress up," she said.

Riza coughed several times before she swallowed painfully and then spoke, "You won't be laughing when you get a husband and find out how comfortable his clothing is." She stumbled a bit and Rebecca grabbed her and helped her on her journey to the bed. Riza climbed on it then crawled to the left side. She had to admit that it felt rather nice not having to hide her relationship status from Rebecca any longer. While she loved and trusted Havoc and Rebecca, her friends, there was some guilt brewing within her over the situation. He closer friends knew but Roy still couldn't tell Maes. She suspected he already had a suspicion of course, that was evident, but when it came to the extent of the situation, he was in the dark. Perhaps after a while, it would be all right to tell him as well.

She slipped her legs under the thick covers and looked up when she heard Rebecca chuckle. "What are you laughing at this time?"

"Well, for some reason I thought that you'd sleep on the right side."

"Why?"

"You are his right hand woman after all."

"Actually I usually do sleep on the right," she said and scooted down until she lay on her back. She then moved to rest on her side, one hand under the pillow and the other atop it. She curled her legs up and relaxed.

"Why aren't you now?"

"His smell is stronger over here," Riza said.

"That is the corniest thing I've ever heard."

"It's the truth," Riza said, then yawned. "His smell is comforting."

"Oh, speaking of corny. I was going to confront you about something I found in the tea box."

Riza sat up and looked at her quizzically as Rebecca removed the love poem Roy left behind. She walked over and handed it to Riza who then unfolded the paper and read it. As soon as she finished, a pleased, small smile crossed her lips.

"It's very sweet. Didn't think Mustang could write something like that."

Riza nodded. "He writes me these things a lot. Usually, it's in code."

"Lucky you."

Riza lay back down and slipped the note under the pillow.

"Yes, lucky me," Riza said, and then yawned.

"Anyway, you should get some slee . . ." Rebecca trailed off her words when she realized at her friend fell asleep instantly. "Well that was quick." Rebecca pulled up the covers and made sure they were over Riza's shoulders before moving her hair out of the way. She studied the blond for a few minutes. Her friend was always so tense in life and now she looked like a small, sick child with her flushed cheeks and her mouth open so she could breathe better.

It was the fact that her friend was so serious that made it a shock that she was keeping a secret like being married. Now that it was out, at least to her and Havoc, she would make sure it stayed a secret. She would protect the happiness of her friend no matter what she had to do. Rebecca nodded once in determination before leaving the room and, after cleaning up the mess in the living room, grabbed some tea and sat down to wait for Havoc to return.

Hayate stared at her then jumped up on the couch to sit beside her, resting his head on her lap. She smiled and scratched him between his ears. "Good job protecting your mistress today."

Hayate barked and then settled down, closing his eyes and falling asleep as quickly as Riza had.

"Wonder if Havoc is going to tell Mustang that we know now or if he'll wait?"

Rebecca jumped when she heard a loud cough followed by a gasp and the shout of her name muffled with another cough. She leaped up to her feet and ran into the bedroom, Hayate following on her heels.

--

Havoc gripped the steering wheel tightly with his hands as he drove back to the hospital. He put most of his focus on his driving but part of his brain was processing what happened back at Haw . . . Mustang's apartment. While it made perfect sense that they were married, and made him extremely happy, it didn't make it any less than a shocking discovery. He hadn't meant to find out and wasn't really snooping when he saw the reminder scratched on one of the dates in the colonel's familiar handwriting. It hadn't occurred to him that it would be their wedding anniversary and was just going to tease her a bit, wanting to get at least a small chuckle out of her. He figured it was the anniversary of someone Roy knew. There wasn't much to give away that it was they. All the writing said was, wedding anniversary: six years. What a bad way to figure something out. It was by pure accident. He wondered if they were the first to find out or if Maes Hughes knew as well. He was Roy's best friend after all.

The real shocker was the fact that Riza had gone along with the secret. He always saw her as strictly by the books Hawkeye. To go against any regulation, no matter how big or small, was so out of character for her. Fraternization was the second most frequent rule drilled in cadets' heads—the first being that of loyalty to country and fuehrer. He chuckled. Well, she wasn't truly loyal to the fuehrer, though she certainly put up a good front that she was. That was going against rule number one. So, upon thinking more about it, it shouldn't shock him that she was going against frat code. He doubted they were the only ones that were keeping relationship secrets.

He pulled into the parking lot, got out of the car and walked to an ashtray positioned at the entrance of the hospital. He continued to puff on the cigarette between his lips, contemplating whether to mention what he found out to the Colonel. If he were to do such, he'd have to do it subtly. He reasoned it would be best to hint at what he discovered. It would be better than springing the issue upon him when he got home. After putting out his cigarette, he threw the stub in the trash and began his trek up to Roy's room.

When he arrived at his destination, the guards immediately moved away from their blockade in front of the door so that he could enter. Roy was lying in bed, his head leaned back and eyes shut. Havoc knew he wasn't asleep because he had his arms folded tightly and he was moving his fingers in a pattern, as if tapping them to music. Also, knowing Mustang's office sleeping habits, he never slept in a straight posture and his current posture was perfect.

"Chief? You asleep," he asked for good measure.

Roy lifted his head from its leaned positioned and opened his eyes. "You back already?" he asked.

"We've been gone about two hours," Havoc said. He walked over and sat down in a chair beside Roy's bed.

"Oh, I see. No clock in here. I guess I got lost in my thoughts too."

"Don't you have your pocket watch?"

"No, it's in the hospital safe. It's a requirement that all valuables be put there. Plus, the watches tend to amplify alchemy slightly. It could react with the equipment in the rooms. "

"Oh, I didn't know that."

"Since Rebecca isn't here with you I assume you found Hawkeye's apartment right?"

"Yes, we found where she was," Havoc said, trying to hint that he knew it wasn't her apartment and his instead.

Roy raised an eyebrow but it was the only indication that he knew Havoc meant something different. "And you managed to convince her not to come here I take it. Since she isn't here of course."

"It was difficult but Rebecca and I convinced her. She was scared to death though. That much was clear. It's understandable after all."

"She didn't punch Rebecca did she?"

"Oh, no. She didn't punch anyone. Besides, I'm the one that told her. I was sitting at the desk."

Roy nodded. "That's good. How's she feeling?"

"She was talking but her voice sounds horrible and she doesn't look much better. When I left, I think she was throwing up. Rebecca is there with her. I'm betting when I go back to pick her up that she'll end up staying the night."

"I think it would be best not to leave Hawkeye alone."

"Chief, Hawkeye and you. . ." he trailed off, trying to structure his thoughts. He took a deep breath. "Hawkeye said you'd explain something we discovered after you get better. I just want to give a heads up."

Roy raised an eyebrow at him. "Explain? What do I need to explain?"

"I . . . um . . . well, lets wait until you get better first."

"Havoc, if you don't tell me know it will drive me crazy until I get out. Now I repeat, what do I need to explain?"

"You don't write in code on your desk calendar. There was a date marked on it and I meant to joke to Hawkeye about it but it turned out the date had to do with you and Hawkeye."

A mental picture of the calendar on his desk formed in his mind and he thought about what he could have possibly written on it for this month. His eyes widened when he realized exactly what Havoc meant. If he knew, then with Rebecca at the place, she likely knew as well. However, his main worry wasn't really that they weren't going to tell but Riza's reaction to them finding out. It couldn't have been a very positive thing being thrown upon her considering her nerves and health at the present time. "So what's your next course of action then? This is good revenge for you. You know, for me taking your dates."

Havoc shook his head. "Come on Chief, like I hold a grudge against that. I'm not that simple minded. Besides if I let this secret get out then it would hurt Hawkeye too and she's special to me."

Roy growled, "Special how?"

Havoc laughed. "Jealous?"

"Of course not."

"Good because I mean special like a sister."

The door to the room opened and Roy looked at Havoc, "We'll talk later," he said as the nurse entered the room.

"Hello Colonel Mustang. I'm here to take your vitals."

Roy could only nod as the nurse pulled a small cart behind her. She grabbed a blood pressure monitor and he held out his arm.

Roy didn't turn to look at her at all, instead favoring to direct his gaze to Havoc. "What's the weather like outside?" Havoc glanced at the nurse to see her frown over the fact Roy wasn't paying her any mind.

"Oh, my. Your blood pressure is much higher than it was when you got here!" She exclaimed. Roy looked over at her and she looked over at Havoc with narrowed eyes. "Have you gotten the Colonel upset?"

"He's done nothing," Roy said. "I feel fine. In fact, I feel good enough to get out of this hospital. Please go get my release forms."

"Chief, you can't do that. The doctor wants to keep you under observation."

"Please, listen to your friend, Colonel. You aren't in any condition to be released from the hospital."

"They said I was just under observation for a few days. From what I can tell I'm going to be fine."

"But—"

"Go get my doctor then. I'll discuss it with him."

"Yes Sir," the nurse said. She gathered her equipment together and then left the room.

"Chief, she's right. You can't leave. If you aren't thinking about yourself, think of Hawkeye."

"Meaning?"

"You know she'll try to take care of you and she's not in the condition to do that," he said.

Roy slouched. "You are right. How could I not think of that?" He felt horrible for not thinking of his wife's state as his first priority. First, he went and got hurt, which he knew worried her on top of her sickness. Then, he almost put another burden on her by wanting to check out.

"Will you go find the nurse and tell her I'll stay?"

"Sure thing chief," Havoc said, standing and going over to the door.

"Havoc," Roy called, causing the blond man to turn around.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"You can trust us chief. Both Rebecca and me. We won't tell anyone."

Before Roy could reply, Havoc left the room.

--

Havoc walked down the hall looking for the nurse at the office. Another nurse there told him where she went and he took the elevator down the stairs. He was shocked when Rebecca ran into him. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair and clothing were soaking wet. There were tears coming out of her eyes and her entire body was shaking.

"Rebecca! What's wrong? What's happened?" he said, panicked at her state.

"It's Riza! She… she…"

He grabbed her upper arms and steadied her. He'd never seen the composed woman so frantic. "What is it, calm yourself and tell me."

"She's in the ER! Havoc, she's not breathing!"

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**AN: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please drop a review my way please if you have the time. **

**IMPORTANT NOTE: My dear dear friend TheDarkSpirit has made a trailer for this fic using the anime. Please come to youtube to check it out. The link of the trailer can be found in the announcements and a trailer section of my profile. **


	59. Room for Two: Pt 1

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 59: Room for Two: Pt 1**

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. Any original characters (if present) do belong to me. Any resemblance of my original characters to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. **

**AN: Currently have a cold so please forgive me if I overlooked a few typos, my concentration isn't at its best. Got a bit more Havbec (my name for Havoc/Rebecca pairing) in this chapter though. My second fave OTP. ^_^ **

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**Room for Two: Pt 1**

Havoc's knees nearly gave way when he heard Rebecca's words. He managed to guide them out of the elevator and away from the door so they wouldn't obstruct the people coming and going. Though he went through the motions, his mind not solely used on his actions. Instead, the possibilities of the group being without Hawkeye were running through his mind. He was more concerned about losing her as a friend rather than an officer. Then there was Mustang to be concerned about. If she died then they all knew the chief wouldn't be alive for very long after. Hawkeye was what held him together and kept him on track. Not even Maes Hughes could do as much as she did for him. After finding out she and Mustang were married, that fact was even more evident.

Havoc shook the thought from his head. It was ridiculous to think such negative things were going to happen. There was no way he would continue to let the possibility of her death run a marathon in his thoughts. It wasn't as if the hospital never had people that came in like her. The flu she had was obviously causing it and her throat congested with some of that mucus stuff that tended to gather there. She wasn't going to die.

"Havoc, what if she dies? What are we going to do if she does? I can't lose my best friend. Mustang can't lose her. None of us can! We all love her too much!" Her voice was in a panic and she truly believed Riza would die.

Havoc moved her wet hair behind her ear from its place sticking against her face. "Calm down, she's not going to die." He moved to help her remove her wet coat. Fortunately, the uniform she wore under it wasn't too damp. She took the coat from him and draped it over her arm.

"But she was . . ."

He gripped her shoulders lightly and stared directly into her eyes. "Listen to me, Hawkeye will be fine. Now, tell that back to me."

"I'm not a child," she snapped and pulled away from him.

He grabbed her by the arms again; somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if it was a smart move. Even if it wasn't, it was too late to worry about it. "I know you aren't a child. You don't have to tell me that. Just repeat what I said out loud."

Rebecca nodded. "Riza will be fine."

"Okay, say it again."

"Havoc."

"Just say it," he said.

"Riza will be fine."

"Exactly."

"She'll really be okay you think?"

"Of course. Now, let's push down that worry a bit and go tell the Chief what happened.

Rebecca gaped at him. "Are you crazy?"

He pulled her toward the elevator. When the door opened and people cleared out, he pulled her inside. He pushed the button to the proper floor and the lift began its trip to its destination. "If you were married and your husband was in the emergency room, wouldn't you want to know?"

"We were hesitant about telling her about Mustang, but you aren't hesitating when it comes to telling him about Riza."

"That's because I'm more afraid of Hawkeye than I am the Chief. Besides, if I knew then what I know now, I would have been more inclined to go tell her. To be honest with you, I was expecting her to be angry rather than scared to death."

"Yeah, I guess I probably was too. I think my fear was more a dread of telling her something bad. During the war instead of sniping, I was the one that had to give notice of deaths to families who lost sons and daughters in Ishbal. Hence, giving bad news isn't exactly something I relish doing."

"Ah, I see. I was working in munitions in East City. I'd just finished academy when the war started."

"We certainly got lucky. I saw what the war did to Riza. She hasn't been the same since she got back from that place."

The doors to the elevator opened and they walked out. Havoc walked over to a nurses' station and Rebecca rolled her eyes. A minute later, she was surprised to find him walking toward her with a thick white towel in his grasp. He threw it over her head. "You are going to get a cold if you don't dry off."

She jerked the towel off her head and growled before proceeding to take the tie out of her hair and dry her dark locks. "You could have been more gentle about it, you ass."

"Hey, be nice. I got you the towel didn't I?"

"Which I didn't ask for," she stated.

"Yes, that's right," Havoc said. "I just thought you might not want to look like a drowned rat." He walked off and Rebecca growled again, an insult poised on her lips. Havoc was several paces ahead of her now, and she wasn't going to waste her energy screaming profanities at him, especially considering she was in a hospital ward of all places. She quickly followed him down the hall, still drying her hair with the fluffy towel.

When they approached Roy's room, the guards moved out of the way without Havoc having to say a word. Havoc stared at the two men for a moment, as if he was a general scrutinizing soldiers in formation. "No matter what, don't let anyone in the room without knocking first. Then come in and ask if it's all right. I don't care if it's the fuehrer himself that wants to enter."

The MP looked shocked. "But sir!"

"Don't worry, the fuehrer is in Central. That was just an example."

"Oh," he said, clearly relieved.

Rebecca hit Havoc on the back harshly. "Just get in the room."

She looked at the two guards. "Don't let anyone in. Do your best."

"Yes Ma'am!" both MPs said. Havoc and Rebecca walked inside and saw Roy resting back against the bed. This time he was so relaxed that the two lieutenants didn't know if he was asleep or not.

"Think we should tell him later?" Rebecca asked.

"Don't know I--"

"Tell me what?" They both jumped when they heard Roy speak. He raised his head slightly and opened his dark eyes.

"We thought you were asleep," Havoc said.

"I was," Roy said, slowly moving to sit up straighter, "I sleep lightly most of the time." He cringed and hissed as his injured arm moved too quickly.

"Pain meds wearing off?"

Roy nodded. "Yes, slowly but surely. Now, what is it you want to tell me?"

Rebecca took a deep breath. "Well I had to call an ambulance for Riza. She's in the ER right now."

"What! What happened to her?" The fear that had poured over him was easily discernable in his voice.

"She couldn't get any air into her lungs. She was turning bluish and gasping at the same time her body was trying to cough. When they were putting her in the ambulance she didn't look like she was . . . Rebecca swallowed and tears began forming in her eyes. "She didn't look like she was moving."

Roy tried not to panic as he heard the woman's words. "Get me a wheelchair and I'm going downstairs to wait on the doctor at the ER."

Rebecca started to protest but upon seeing the stern look on Roy's features, she left the room without an argument.

"Chief, you shouldn't try to leave the room."

"Do you even think you are going to change my mind?"

"No," he said, "I guess not."

"Then don't try."

"What will people think about you going through the trouble to go down there? Won't it be risky to your secret to do that?"

"They will think that I'm a commanding officer that is worried about his subordinate. That's what they will think," Roy spoke harshly. He put his legs over the side of the bed, placing his bare feet down on the blue hospital slippers placed there. Roy ran a hand through his hair. "I can't lose her. I'd be useless."

Havoc sat down and studied him for a moment before speaking. "She'll be fine, Chief," he said.

"Yeah, I know."

Havoc nodded once and decided that he would get Roy to talk about something else. Though he knew it wouldn't completely take his mind off Hawkeye, it might keep him from dwelling too much on where she was at that moment. "All these troubles you've been going through," he began, noting the way Roy looked over at him, "have they been affecting your relationship with Hawkeye?"

"Of course they have," Roy replied, "but we're strong enough not to let it take a bad route with our personal life. Why do you ask?"

Havoc shrugged."Just asking. So, I assume Hughes knows about your relationship, right?"

Roy shook his head.

"Really?"

He nodded.

The blond leaned forward and sighed. For some reason he couldn't quite figure out, he wasn't shocked that Roy hadn't told Hughes. "I'm not married chief so I have no experience in that. But if you need to talk about things sometime, I'm more than willing to listen and I'm not going to tell."

Roy nodded. "Thanks Havoc. Actually you and Rebecca finding out gives me some piece of mind."

"How so?"

"Riza was going to tell Rebecca but she didn't. She didn't feel that it was fair that I couldn't tell Maes.

"Why couldn't you?"

"Can you imagine Hughes knowing something like that? He has a clue that our relationship is more than what it appears, but he doesn't know the extent of it. He has a family to worry about. If we are discovered and they find out he knows, it could ruin the lives of his wife and child as well."

"But that's different, why would Hawkeye feel guilty about telling Rebecca if the reasons are that good?"

"Because there's another reason. She doesn't fully trust Hughes. She told me once that she trusted two people other than me." He laughed. "It's funny that the two she mentioned are the ones that made the discovery on their own," Roy said. He couldn't believe how amazing it felt to get that bit of information off his chest and out to someone that, yes, he trusted fully.

"Aren't you the least bit bitter that you can't tell him?"

"I was for a little while but now I'm not. Riza has it much harder than anyone that I've ever known. She puts so much on herself and blames herself for everything. I want things to be better for her. Being married to me can't be easy."

The door to the room opened and Rebecca came in with a wheelchair, cursing under her breath. "Damn nurses. I had to body slam one to get this thing. I don't get the issue. That old man could walk just fine without it. I'm sure."

Roy and Havoc gaped at her and she rolled her eyes. "Never mind. I was trying to make a joke to get my mind off things." The two men nodded as if they were in slow motion. She sighed, "I failed right?" The two nodded again. "That's what I thought." She exhaled a large breath and wheeled the chair over to Roy. He slowly stood, wavering slightly. He closed his eyes to keep vertigo from setting in and sat down in the chair. Though he hated the contraptions, he knew he couldn't even walk a few feet without falling.

"Loss of blood," Roy said, explaining his unsteadiness.

"Didn't they give you any at all?"

"I didn't quite lose enough to require that."

"Are you sure you want to go down there?" Rebecca asked.

"There's no need for me to answer that," Roy said.

"Okay then," she replied.

The three left the room, the two guards clearly stunned when they saw that Roy was with Havoc and Rebecca. Havoc turned to them. "Make sure no one goes into the room. We'll guard the Colonel for now."

"Lieutenant Hawkeye has been sent to the ER. As her commanding officer it's my duty to check up on her since she has no family here," Roy said to the two men.

_ "We hope Lieutenant Hawkeye will be okay. We served with her in Ishbal," one of the men said._

_--_

"Why did you tell them where we were going?" Havoc asked when they were in the elevator, away from anyone that could hear them.

"Because if they found out where we went and we'd kept it a secret, it would have looked even more suspicious. By mentioning it, it makes it less secretive and not a big deal. Not that those two men would report it, even if they did find it odd. You heard what they said about serving with Hawkeye. Sometimes I wonder if people are loyal to me just because she is, or because they believe in what I'm trying to do."

"Honestly, I probably wouldn't be supporting you if it wasn't for her. I wouldn't even know what you were trying to do," Rebecca said.

Roy chuckled. "And because you hate my guts?"

"I don't hate your guts entirely. Just a bit," she admitted.

"I think a herd of swine are taking off somewhere," Roy said, causing her to laugh lightly.

"Does this mean that you two will probably get along better from now on?" Havoc asked.

Rebecca and Roy looked at him. "Not likely," they both said.

"Yeah, that's what I figured."

After getting off the elevator, Roy and Havoc went into the waiting room as Rebecca walked across the hall to a nurses' station. "Excuse me. Do you have any word on the condition of Riza Hawkeye? Has the doctor come out to speak about her yet?"

The nurse began flipping through a bunch of papers on a clipboard. She turned to another nurse. "Margret, do you know anything about the condition of Riza Hawkeye."

A chubby red-haired nurse smiled at Rebecca. "She's still in the ER. The doctor will be out soon to speak with you."

"Thank you," Rebecca replied then walked back across the hall to the waiting room.

"Anything?" Havoc asked.

Rebecca shook her head then flopped down in a chair and sighed. "Damn it. I'm going to have this room memorized down to the last detail by the time all of this is over. Last time I was worried about Riza killing me, now I'm worried about Riza dying."

"She's not going to die," Roy said, "stop talking stupid."

Rebecca looked over at him, "What —"

"If you think Hawkeye is going to let a nasty flu bug get the best of her then perhaps you don't know her as well as you think you do."

"You act like she has a choice! She wasn't breathing. Do you know what its like to see your friend look blue?"

"Rebecca," Havoc said, trying to get her to stop with the hysterics.

"Yes," he said, remembering when Hughes got sick in academy. Roy stared into her eyes, showing absolute faith that Riza was going to be fine.

"Aren't you worried?" she asked. "At all?"

"Worried isn't a strong enough word to even begin covering my feelings. But I'm not worried that she's going to die. I'm concerned about the pain she's going through. _She never did like hospitals and doctors. If she's awake during all the tests, she's probably annoyed or even scared." _

"Riza? Scared of the hospital? I doubt that."

Roy stayed quiet, not revealing to Rebecca that Riza was indeed fearful of hospitals and doctors. However, it wasn't because of needles or exams but because she didn't want to reveal the tattoo on her back. No one could use it even if they did see it, but that didn't stave off any of the insecurities that she carried concerning it.

After half an hour of sitting and waiting in silence, the doctor entered the room. "You two aga . . . Colonel Mustang, what are you doing here?"

Roy wheeled his wheelchair over to the doctor. "Lieutenant Hawkeye is my bodyguard. Since she has no family here, I feel it's my responsibility to find out her condition," Roy said. Though Grumman was her grandfather, Riza wouldn't be happy if he called the man. She was trying to keep the relation a secret.

"Oh, I see," He said, "that's very kind of you."

Rebecca stood and grabbed onto the doctors arm. "Is she alright? Is she breathing? She's alive isn't she?"

The doctor gently pulled his arm out of her grasp, gave her a small smile, and nodded. "Miss Hawkeye is going to be just fine. She has developed pneumonia, but its minor compared to the other cases we've seen in the hospital. Since she's in good general health, we expect her to make a full recovery."

"How long does she have to stay," Roy asked.

"Three days is the usual stay but it really depends on the patient. Then we'll give her some antibiotics and send her home to recover for a few weeks."

"Weeks?" Havoc asked, surprised it took that long to recover from the illness she had.

"Yes, a full recovery of pneumonia takes about two or three weeks. Then she can return to work."

"Alright, thank you doctor," Roy said.

"After a few more tests we are going to move her into a room and you can visit with her," the doctor said.

"Doctor, I suggest that Lieutenant Hawkeye be put in the same room with Colonel Mustang," Rebecca said with a very professional tone of voice.

Havoc and Roy looked at her oddly.

"We don't normally put a female and male patient in the same room unless they are spouses," the doctor said.

"Yes, and I understand that. However, with the circumstances in her case, it is in the hospital's and the military's best interest for them to be in the same room."

"What do you mean?"

Havoc muttered a few unrecognizable words, then spoke to the doctor. "She means that with the serial killer around, there are a lot of military resources being spent. Since she's Colonel Mustang's bodyguard she is also a target."

"Exactly," Rebecca said. "By putting them both in the same room, we can easily guard them. That way if the serial killer does target the hospital and manage to break through, it will be an isolated incident as well."

If Roy hadn't already been sitting down, he would have had to. Roy was thrilled that Rebecca thought up such an idea. It was true though, it would be more effective to guard them, but he doubted Scar would target Riza, much less an entire hospital. Still, if it got him to see Riza and watch her through her recovery, he was more than happy to follow along with Rebecca's suggestion.

"I think that would be the best course of action. When Lieutenant Hawkeye is out of commission, these two are responsible for my security." Roy's statement was only a half-lie. In reality, they never discussed who would be in charge of his security if Riza were out of action.

"Very well. Now, you should get back to your room and get some rest Colonel. I'll have Miss Hawkeye put there after the tests are done."

Thank you doctor," Roy said. Rebecca walked behind Roy's wheelchair and rolled him out of the room. Havoc nodded a goodbye to the doctor and followed her.

When the doors to the elevator shut, Roy looked at Rebecca. "Thanks," he said.

"For what?"

"The room issue."

"Ah," she said.

"Yeah, that was pretty intelligent of you," Havoc said. "It surprised me quite a bit."

Rebecca glared. "Just what do you mean by that?"

"I don't think you want to clarify that statement Havoc, unless you want to be the next person in the ER."

"Yeah, and I refuse to sit in that room anymore," Rebecca said then huffed.

Havoc shrugged and didn't speak anything else.

When they got to the room, Roy got up from the chair and made his way to the bed. By the time he positioned himself comfortably, he was feeling breathless and horribly weak. The pain was slowly seeping into a state where he could feel it due to the medicine wearing off. He leaned back against his pillow and winced as pain charged through his arm, concentrating especially at the bullet wound.

"Why don't you get some sleep chief. We'll wake you when they bring Hawkeye in," Havoc said.

"You two should go home and get some rest," Roy said.

"No way, not until I see Riza with my own eyes," Rebecca protested.

"Same for me Chief," Havoc said.

"Have you taken care of Hayate?" Roy asked, suddenly thinking about the little puppy at their place. "Riza won't admit it but she loves that dog like a child."

"I put out the fire in the fireplace and gave the pup some food. I'll go pick up the puppy and take him to my place before I go home."

"Wow, that was responsible of you," Havoc said.

"I'm about tired of receiving your sarcasm!"

"Yes but I'm not tired of giving it to you."

Roy chuckled and leaned back against his pillow. Though he didn't actually want to sleep, he could feel the weights of fatigue press on his eyelids and body, making him relax and slowly drift off into slumber.

Roy instantly awoke when he heard thumps and creeks sounding in his room. He opened his eyes, and saw Rebecca standing at his left side, one of her hands resting on his shoulder. He looked at her questioningly.

"They brought her in and she's sleeping peacefully." Rebecca motioned to the right and Roy turned his head. His stomach ached as he looked at his wife. She was the palest he'd ever seen her, her skin nearly as white as the sheets on the bed. Her breathing was laboring, the exhalation of air making a soft asthmatic sound as it escaped.

Roy sat up slowly. "Hey, what are you doing?" she asked.

He ignored her and placed his feet on the floor to the right of his bed, the coolness of the linoleum making him shiver once. He stood and made his way over to Riza's bed, his body subconsciously tilted his feet as if he were walking on a spinning platform. He managed to make it over to Riza's bed and closed his eyes until he felt like the circling stopped.

"Sir," Rebecca said, "we are going to go out side and keep watch for a while to give the guards a break. If anyone comes in, we'll knock on the door."

"Alright then," Roy said. He didn't take his eyes off his wife as he spoke.

Havoc and Rebecca left the room directly after his words.

"You two go get some coffee and have a long break," Havoc said. "We'll guard the door."

The two men saluted. "Yes sir," they said, and walked down the hall.

Rebecca turned to the door, opened it about four inches, and peaked in.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Havoc asked.

"Spying on them," she said, as if what she was doing was completely normal.

Havoc shook his head but left her to her actions. If they caught her, then it would be her with bodily injuries, not him. He and Rebecca were just too much alike, but at least he had more restraint. He pushed down the curiosity that was rushing through him and leaned against the wall. Yes, too much alike indeed.

* * *

**AN: I would have written more in this chapter but I still have a chapter for my fic Vacuous Heart of Blood to finish this week. They'll be another chapter next week hopefully if I don't have some papers to do. I already have 1600 words of next chapter written. More Royai and serious Havbec next chapter. Once again, I thank you so much for reading and being so patient with me and the chapter delays. I'm less patient with myself because I like to stay on schedule. Please drop a review my way if you have the time. I very much appreciate them and you reading. **


	60. Another Couple?

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 60: Another couple?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. **

**AN: The document manager kept messing up my formatting when I uploaded and I had to fix it manually. Sorry if its a bit messed up formatting wise.  
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**Another couple?**

Roy lifted a hand to stroke Riza's pale face gently with the tips of his fingers. He wasn't expecting her skin to be so ice cold considering there was a sparse layer of sweat on her brow and her cheeks were flushed lightly. His eyebrows furrowed when she whimpered and then moved her face close to his warm palm.

He scooted closer to her head and leaned down to press a delicate kiss on her forehead, then cheek. "You are going to be okay," he whispered, "I love you."

He started to stand and go back to his bed but Riza stirred and he stopped in his motions. He leaned in again and whispered her name. Her eyes opened but before she could speak, she began coughing, as if opening her eyelids signaled the start of their race through and out of her body. She sat up as each cough caused her body to jerk violently as it left her.

Roy wrapped his uninjured arm around her and began rubbing her back gently with his hand as the coughs continued their assault, one after the other in quick succession and barely giving her time to take in a breath between them. Even though Roy knew that there wasn't much one could do for her, he still felt incredibly helpless watching her go through them.

When the attack finally ceased, he grabbed a tissue from the bedside table and wiped her mouth gently before tossing it in the trash. "Where . . ." she began but another cough interrupted her. She frowned miserably, looking like she was about to cry.

"You are in the hospital," he said. "Don't you remember Rebecca calling an ambulance for you?"

Riza shook her head.

"You have a mild case of pneumonia."

"Mild?" she asked, using a scratchy voice and an incredulous tone.

Roy nodded and rested his hand against her cheek. "Yes, just mild. I'd hate to see the serious form."

"How long do I have to stay?"

"For a few days."

"Hayate?"

"Rebecca is going to take care of him for you. Is there anything that you need right now? Anything I can do?" Riza nodded. "What is it?"

Riza pushed herself towards him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and hugged him tightly. Roy smiled softly, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Her smell was the best thing in the world and easily overpowered the disgusting odor of the hospital itself. He hadn't been away from her a full day and he'd already missed the vanilla and lavender that she always smelled of.

She cuddled close to him and ran one of her hands through the hair at the back of his head a few times. He felt her shudder in his arms.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I was worried about you," she whispered.

"I'm fine love," he said. "Don't worry about me and focus on getting better."

She unwrapped her arms from around his neck and stared into his eyes. When she suddenly realized where they were, she quickly pulled further away from him.

"Don't worry," Roy said as he intertwined his fingers with hers. "Rebecca and Havoc are standing guard. They'd said they knock if anyone --" he yawned loudly, "entered."

He pushed her gently so that she was laying down and leaned in to kiss her, only to be stopped by two of her fingers just as his lips were about to touch hers. He pulled back a bit, understanding why she took the actions she did.

"Pneumonia isn't contagious Riza."

"No but the cold I had is."

Roy frowned. "I don't care."

"Roy," she scolded.

"You heard me," he said. He moved her hand, leaned in, and brushed her lips very lightly with his.

"Okay, go get some sleep now," Riza said.

Roy nodded. "I'll be over here if you need me for anything."

"Wish you could sleep with me," Riza said and yawned before closing her eyes.

Roy made sure the covers were over her properly before stumbling back to his bed, feeling like the six feet walk between their beds was more like a mile long run. He finally got into bed and glanced at the door. He laughed lightly as he saw it shut quickly.

He looked over at Riza who was in a deep sleep, a light wheezing sound coming from her body once again. He closed his eyes and soon found himself falling asleep, more comfortable knowing his wife was near him.

"He catch you?" Havoc asked, chuckling after his words.

"Yes," she said, "but they are so cute that it was worth being caught."

"Never exactly thought of those two as cute, but whatever you say."

"That's just because you aren't romantic," she said.

"So you approve of the chief for her now?"

Rebecca folded her arms, leaned back against the door, and shrugged. "It's not up to me to approve of him. As long as he treats my friend really well, I don't get involved."

"Yeah, okay. Whatever."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing at all."

"Havoc!" she snapped.

"What? I meant nothing."

"Yes you did," she said.

"No," he said.

"Yes you did."

"Just forget it."

"See! You did mean something!"

"Sirs?" The two military policemen that were previously guarding the door had returned, each with a small cup in their hands.

"Hour up already?" Rebecca said.

"Thirty minutes," one of the men said. "There's not much one can do for a break in a hospital."

Havoc and Rebecca moved and the two men took their places. "Knock on the door twice and wait a few moments before entering if anyone comes," Havoc said.

"Yes Sir."

Rebecca entered the room to tell Roy that they were going home, only to find them both sleeping deeply. She left the room and looked at Havoc. "Let's go."

-----

"I have to pick up Hayate at Riza's place before I go home. I told Mustang that I'd take care of him until he or Riza gets out of the hospital," Rebecca said as they pulled out of the parking lot and onto the highway. Havoc nodded and took the road toward Riza and Roy's apartment building.

Rebecca quickly went in to pick up the pup before coming out to the car. He stayed in his spot when she opened the back door to the automobile.

"Get in pup," she said, but the dog didn't move. "Go on pup." Hayate still didn't make a motion toward the vehicle. He was very hesitant to get into the car without his master.

"Your mistress is in the hospital Hayate. Rebecca will be taking care of you until she gets out. Okay," Havoc said.

"Do you really think talking to him in complete sentences is going to . . ." she trailed off when Hayate leaped into the back seat then moved up to the front, resting his head on Havoc's lap.

"Hayate is smarter than you think," Havoc said.

"Amazing," Rebecca said. She closed the back door and got into the front to sit.

Havoc pulled back out onto the highway. "Where do you live?" he asked.

"Matecreek Military Apartment Complex. The B Side of the building," she said.

When Havoc began chuckling, she turned to look at him. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," he managed to say before his laughing began again.

"What's wrong?"

"I've never seen you around there."

"Huh?"

"I live in the same building. On side A."

"Well it's really not surprising we haven't seen each other. We usually work two different shifts. I go to work at eight and get off at four."

"Oh, I see. My standard shift is nine to five," he said, "but working with the chief usually isn't standard. We never know what we have to do next."

"Can I ask you something?" Rebecca questioned.

"Sure."

"Why do you support him?"

Havoc thought for a moment. "Why do you ask?"

"Riza's really dedicated to him and it scares me to death that she might take a bullet for him someday. I want to know what makes him so special."

"Why do you support him?"

"Because Riza is my friend and asked me to," Rebecca said.

"And you always do what your friends ask?"

"I trust her."

"What if Hawkeye's judgment was bad? What if he's not a good person?"

Rebecca shrugged. "There's no way her judgment would be bad. I don't think Mustang is a bad person per se, but what really makes him different from anyone else that says he wants to get to the top and change things? What if he gets to the top and become just as corrupt as the current fuehrer?"

"Riza will kill him," Havoc said.

"This is no time to joke," she said.

Havoc pulled into the parking lot at the B-side of the apartment building and turned to her. "I'm not joking."

"Explain."

Havoc shook his head. "A car isn't exactly the right place to discuss this. I'll tell you if we ever get any spare time."

"Well we have it now. Come up to my place. I'll order some pizza and I have beer. Bet your hungry too right?"

"Wouldn't people talk?"

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. "I don't know about your side of the building but on B side there's far more things going on than a friend going up for pizza and beer. If anyone makes anything out of you coming up, I have enough dirt on them to end their careers for good. But the occupants on our side sort of have an 'if see, no ask, no tell policy there.'"

"Okay then, but I'm buying the pizza."

"What! No way! I invited you up, I should be the one to buy."

"You provide beer, I'll provide pizza. It's only right. Don't argue and let me at least do that."

Rebecca sighed and nodded.

"Good," Havoc said.

Thunder rolled over the environment and with a loud crash, a downpour began right when they got out of the car. They quickly locked the doors, slammed them shut, and rushed inside the building.

"Brrr, I hate rain," Rebecca said as the elevator doors opened and they walked onto the floor where her apartment resided.

Havoc laughed and looked to the right when he thought he spotted someone he knew. "Hey, that's Lieutenant Adams. What's he doing he . . . re." Havoc trailed out the word when the door to an apartment opened and he kissed the guy at the door. His eyes widened. "What the…"

"You didn't see that," Rebecca said, grabbing his hand and leading him to the left, toward her place.

"Adams is married to a woman."

"So?"

"He kissed a dude!"

"So?" Rebecca asked. "Never heard of bisexuality? Bisexuals cheat too."

"Wow, talk about an, if see, don't ask, don't tell policy."

She walked to her door, removed her key, and unlocked it. Hayate went inside the place before she and Havoc entered.

After removing their coats and jackets, they walked toward her living room, Hayate walking close beside her. When they got to the door, he instantly went inside and over to sit in front of the radiator heater near the window.

"I'll get you a towel to dry off," she said. The phone is there on the table beside the door if you want to go ahead and order the pizza."

"Sure thing," Havoc said, "is there any particular place that you like?"

"No, just anywhere is fine," she said, before going down the hall and turning into a room.

Havoc walked into her living room and suddenly found it hard to believe that he was actually in Rebecca's apartment. The décor didn't seem to suit Rebecca at all, at least not the side of Rebecca he knew. Everything was cozy, homely, and reminded him of the living room his grandmother had back at her farm. The tables and chairs were made of a light brown, unvarnished oak that looked like it would still be just as solid a hundred years from now as it was now. The couch was a thickly upholstered and covered in a kilt-looking pattern. There were several rugs with the same design under the tables and the lamps were dark red with a white shade. It was a very pleasant room. He chuckled at the fact one of his preconceived notions about Rebecca's tastes was wrong. He expected expensive looking, not something so similar to his own preferences.

He turned toward the phone and picked it up. Before he could begin dialing a number, a towel covered his head. He frowned and hung up the receiver before taking the towel off his head, an amused Rebecca greeting his vision as he did so. He couldn't help but grin at her. "Thanks," he said.

"No problem," she replied.

"What do you like on your pizza?" he asked.

"Anything except olives."

Havoc draped the towel over his shoulders and picked up the phone again. "Like Mulligan's Pizza?"

"That's usually where I order from," she said.

"It's closest," they said at the same time, then laughed. Rebecca started to walk out of the room. "You want some tea while we wait on the food?"

"Yeah, sounds good," he said.

She nodded and left the room, heading toward her kitchen. A random thought hit her that perhaps she should learn to make coffee after all. That way if Havoc came—no, if she had other guest come, she could give them more options. As she began making the tea, she couldn't seem to take her mind off Havoc and the way he looked sans his uniform jacket. Those ugly things always made everyone seem so shapeless but she never thought Havoc looked like that without it. She'd seen him out of uniform before, but he was never wearing that tight shirt that hugged his torso so snugly. What made it worse was that she kissed that hot guy and couldn't do anything else. At first, she'd contemplated suggesting a secret relationship, but with finding out Riza and Mustang's secret, it flew out the window. There was no way they could handle keeping a relationship a secret when also trying to keep Riza and Mustang's from being discovered.

When she heard the teapot whistle, she quickly fixed the two cups of tea and carried them into the room. Havoc was already sitting on the couch and drying his hair with the towel she'd given him. When she sat down beside him, he took one of the mugs from her grasp. "Thanks."

She nodded and leaned back against the couch. She took a sip of her steaming tea.

"Hawkeye promised to shoot Roy if he ever strayed," Havoc said suddenly, causing Rebecca to choke on the hot liquid in her mouth. After she cleared her throat, she glared at him.

"That's not something you tell someone when they have a hot beverage in their mouth!"

"Oh, sorry," he said.

"You can't be serious!"

"Yes, I'm really am sorry. I didn't mean to get you choked."

"I don't mean that! I mean about what you said about Riza!"

"I'm surprised she never told you."

"Oh come on, do you think she can actually do that? She can't live without him. I've realized that just by watching them today!"

"Who said she's going to live after she does it?" He leaned back as Rebecca moved to sit on the edge of the couch. She turned to face him more.

"What in the hell do you mean by that."

Havoc glanced at her. "If she had to shoot him, she'd definitely kill herself right after."

"But she can't do that just because she shoots him! He's the one who strayed!"

Havoc chuckled and placed a hand against her cold face, his own hand chilly as well. "Calm down. You talk as if it's actually going to happen. There's no way that he would be corrupted like that."

Rebecca frowned. "Would you shoot him?"

"What?" Havoc said, surprised at her words.

"If Riza wasn't around and he strayed, would you shoot him?"

"I doubt he'd ask me to do that."

"If he did ask you," she prompted.

"Then yes, I would shoot him if he became corrupted."

"And would you shoot yourself afterward like Riza?"

"Well I'm not in love with the chief," Havoc joked. Rebecca growled, grabbed a pillow and hit him with it, Havoc barely managing to move his tea to keep it from getting hit and spilling all over him.

"Stop joking around and answer my question."

"Fine," he said, still chuckling at her reaction. "No, I wouldn't shoot myself. At least I don't think."

"You don't think?"

"Well if I shot him and someone found out, it would be likely they'd execute me right?"

"Yes," she said.

"Well wouldn't you rather kill yourself than be executed? Murder is death by hanging at the moment. I'd rather have a bullet in my skull."

"I thought it was a firing squad."

"Sometimes it is," Havoc said, "but even so, wouldn't you rather just end it yourself than face that?"

Rebecca nodded. "Yes, I suppose I would." She looked down at the mug in her grasp. "Today I'm finding out all sorts of things about Riza that I never knew. I feel like the woman I've been talking to through the years has been just an act.

"Not at all," he said, causing her to look up. "Hawkeye is just like all of us. We sometimes get the idea because she's so by the books and seemingly perfect, that she's not human. No one can be open about everything. Don't you have two different faces that you wear?"

"What do you mean two different faces?"

"I mean two different sides to you. Even if you don't know, I can tell you that you do. The Rebecca that I see now is far different from the Rebecca I see at work. You are less serious right now, more open."

She looked down at her lap, trying to hide a blush that painted upon her cheeks. "Is that a good or bad thing?"

"I'd say it's a good thing. Being serious all the time is very bad for your health. Besides, I understand what you women have to go through in the military. If you show any weakness, its likely most men will pounce on it. Right?"

"That's right. It's either men that hate the fact that women are in the military, or it is them thinking they have to treat us like precious gems. Like we can't do anything. But I've noticed most of the men I'm around now aren't like that. They get over it. "

"You have to realize that men have this inherent nature to protect females. Though we know that it's possible that not all of you are the weaker sex, there's something ingrained in our deep mentality that tells us to be the alpha."

"How would you feel about having a woman as a commanding officer?"

Havoc laughed. "I do, remember?"

"Huh?"

"Hawkeye is one rank above me. Technically she's my commanding officer."

Rebecca laughed. "She's the Executive Officer."

"Okay, let me rephrase that. She outranks me."

"But she doesn't usually pull rank right?"

"She does pull rank at the office when we start carrying on or getting lazy. The incident with the office pool and alchemy battle is a good example of that. She usually doesn't get as stressed out like she did during that time. Oh, and she's never shot at us. That rumor has been flying around since she shot at the poor Hayate. Usually if she can't get us to behave she tells Mustang to order it."

"Tells?"

Havoc laughed. "Yes, tells."

"You mean Mustang doesn't just go along with you all? I heard he was a slacker."

"He likes to procrastinate but he does his work most of the time. Its just his procrastinating has taken on the form that he's lazy. He's not."

She nodded, "I see. So he likely keeps up the front because he doesn't want people to know his true intentions right?"

"Exactly, at least I guess that is the reason. I've never felt the need to just come out and ask him about it. I don't often correct people because I don't want to ruin the act if that's why he's doing it."

She nodded. "Yeah, I guess he can't tell all of his followers everything right?"

"I would like to know about his dating habits and how that works."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, he goes out on dates. I wonder if that bothers Hawkeye at all. He's even taken a few of my girls."

"It is probably another act to throw off the fact they are married. I've seen Riza go out with a few men as well, but nothing was ever long lasting. Most of the time they were just male friends that she knew from academy or Ishbal."

"So they do that to make people think they are single," Havoc said. "The chief has built up a widely known playboy reputation."

"And he dates women that are always the complete opposite of Riza," Rebecca said.

A knock on the door broke up their conversation and Havoc stood.

"Are you sure you don't want me to pay? I'm the one that invited you up h—"  
"I told you I'd handle it," he said and moved to the door.

"Wait!" she said.

"What?"

"You are in my place. Let me get the door."

"Why?"

"I order from that place a lot and so do you. What if the pizza boy recognizes you? Since you are over here then that will obviously imply something, even though it shouldn't. The officers on this side of the building have a strict no tell understanding but the restaurant certainly doesn't. I know word travels fast when it comes to civilians and gossip."

"Word travels fast with anyone," he said and then handed her his wallet. "Here, get what you need out to pay the guy."

Rebecca nodded and left the room as Havoc went to sit back down. She opened the door, and removed her own money from her pocket instead of opening Havoc's wallet. After paying the guy for the pizza and tipping him, she brought the box back into the living room and sat it on the coffee table. She handed Havoc his wallet. He instantly opened it and threw a twenty on the table in front of her.

"Hey! What's that for?"

"You didn't pay for the pizza with my money," he said while putting his wallet in his pocket.

"How in the hell did you know that?"

"Because I would have done the same exact thing you did," he said.

She stood and muttered. "I'll go get some beer and plates." She picked up the money and threw it in his lap. "I don't want your money. I invited you up here idiot."

He watched as she left the room and chuckled. He took the twenty, stood and walked over to her purse sitting on the table. He stuck the twenty down in it before hurrying back to sit on the couch.

Rebecca came back in and handed Havoc two plates before sitting a six pack on the table. They began eating and chatting about various things, eventually destroying the pizza, and going through the six-pack of beer. After that one was gone, they started in on another six-pack, conversing so well together that they lost track of time.

--

Rebecca groaned as she turned to lie on her back, her hand hitting something warm beside her. She moved to cuddle closer to the warmth but then realized that there shouldn't be something warm beside her, in her bed. Especially not something that was breathing! In fact, she shouldn't be lying in her bed. The last she remembered she was sitting on the couch talking with Havoc, drinking beer, and then going for much stronger alcohol. God she had a hangover. She hadn't had a hangover since academy.

She sat up and nearly vomited when the entire apartment felt like it was moving and just put its breaks on suddenly. She fell back and curled up in the fetal position, trying to stave off the nausea that hit her and momentarily forgetting that there was another living thing in bed with her. She opened her eyes and they broadened so wide that they began watering because of the cool air that hit them. Havoc was sleeping across from her, butt naked with just a sheet covering his man parts.

She let out a loud scream and jerked the cover from under him sending him off the bed and onto the floor, the lamp falling off the nightstand and hitting him on the head. When he didn't sit up or make any noise, she slowly crawled on her hands and knees to the edge of the bed. She looked over the edge and saw Havoc. His forehead was bleeding and there were shattered lamp pieces around him.

Rebecca yet again found herself in the emergency room, with a hangover, watching as a now conscious Havoc was getting the upper right of his forehead stitched up.

"Now how did you knock a lamp on your head? Lamps usually aren't level with one's head."

Havoc glared at Rebecca. "No, they aren't."

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**AN: I promise more royai next chapter. For now, I hope you enjoyed the Havbec in this one as well as the smidgen of Royai. Please drop a review if you have time. I'll have a new chapter of BKS and my other fics at the beginning of April. **


	61. Room for Two: Pt 2

**Best Kept Secret **

**Chapter 61: Room for Two: Pt 2**

**Disclaimer: I down own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction other than writing practice. **

**AN: I based Riza's case of pneumonia off when my friend had it. She was in the hospital for two and a half days but had to stay home for about a week before she could return to school. Even then, she didn't fully recover until about a month later. I wanted to note this because I often get PM's about inaccuracies of sickness because other people didn't recover a certain way. Recovery times of illnesses sometimes vary on the person.  
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**Roy for Two: Pt 2**

Roy found it very peculiar that when Havoc and Rebecca walked into the room, they instantly went their separate ways. Havoc moved over to sit near him while Rebecca made a beeline towards Riza. She moved the curtain between them, much to his annoyance.

He looked at Havoc who was tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair, a very unlike Havoc gesture. It'd been two days since he saw the officers and something clearly happened in the span of those days to make them display the formal and uneasy attitude toward each other.

"Okay, what's going on with you two?" Roy asked, unable to keep his inquiries to himself.

"Chief, you don't want to know that," he said, moving his hand to run his fingers through his hair. He winced when his fingers hit a small bandage on his forehead.

"What happened to your head?" Roy asked.

"A lamp decided to give my head a kiss," Havoc said loudly. Roy jumped when he heard Rebecca growl.

"Rebecca threw a lamp at you?" Roy asked.

The curtain between the two beds, slid across a few feet and Rebecca peaked around it. "I didn't throw a lamp at him!" She pulled the curtain closed roughly, the metal loops it was attached to clanging loudly then ceasing their noises after several smaller reverberations.

Roy looked back at Havoc. "No she didn't throw it at me. Let's not talk about it. Not worth the time."

"Okay then," Roy said. He was still unable to prevent himself from contemplating how a lamp could have caused Havoc's injury.

---

"What happened?" Riza whispered as she leaned toward a now seated Rebecca.

"I knocked a lamp on his head," Rebecca muttered.

"But you just said you didn't."

"No, I said I didn't throw the lamp at him. It was an accidental knock."

"How do you accidentally knock a lamp on someone's head?"

"It's me Riza," she said, "you know fate likes to fuck with my life."

Riza nodded. "You do have a point. Okay, I'll put it a different way. How did he get in the situation to have you knock a lamp on his head?"

Rebecca's mind clawed for an answer. During the bus ride home after Havoc got out of the emergency room, they made an agreement that the incident between them would remain a secret. They also agreed that it wouldn't get awkward, but they were failing heroically at that part of the agreement. How in the hell could it not get awkward when they had a drunken one night stand? Those tended to go under the category of awkward events right along with farting in a silent room full of people and a booger hanging from your nose during a job interview.

The door to the room opened, saving her from having to come up with a lie. "Oh, wonder who that could possibly be?" she said in a tone of voice that made Riza recognize the uneasiness in her. Rebecca stood and moved the curtain, revealing that the doctor was the one that entered and was talking to Roy.

"You can be discharged this evening," he said. "I've had the nurse make the appointments for therapy for your arm. She'll bring your discharge papers and directions for taking care of your wound."

"How long will I have to take therapy for it?"

"Oh, no more than a month. We just want to make sure it works optimally."

"When can I return to work?"

Riza tensed when he asked that but drew no attention to the others in the room.

"I'd like you to take off another week before heading back to work."

"I see, thank you."

"What about Riza?" Rebecca asked.

"That's what I was going to ask. When can I leave?"

"I would like to keep you here for a few more days. You live alone right?"

Riza nodded.

"If you had someone to monitor you, then I would give you antibiotics and let you recover at home."

"Does it have to be twenty four seven monitoring?" Roy asked.

"No, Miss Hawkeye is in a much more stable condition than she was two days ago. Around the clock monitoring isn't necessary."

"Then I'll keep an eye on her," Rebecca said. She smiled at Riza and winked. "I know she doesn't care for hospitals at all. Plus, my job warrants me going near her place pretty often. I can easily drop by and check in."

"Well then, if Miss Hawkeye feels secure with going home, I see no reason why she too can't be discharged since her condition has improved."

"Thank you," Riza said.

"If you start feeling worse, come back to the hospital."

"I will."

The doctor nodded. "The nurse will bring you a prescription with your discharge papers," he said and then left the room.

"Do you have any idea how much I adore you Rebecca," Riza said.

Rebecca laughed. "I thought you would. Oh, and don't worry, I won't drop in that much. You have that guy over there to watch out for you." She motioned her head toward Roy. "Though I will drop in to see if he fucked up."

Roy frowned. "Hey, I'm not going to fuck anything up. I've taken care of her when she was sick before."

"Yes but you weren't injured too."

"She's right Sir, but at least I can help you change your bandages," Riza said.

"Sir? You still call him Sir?" Rebecca asked.

"Not all the time. Just in front of others and in public places," she said.

Havoc stood from his seat, having remained silent for most of the conversation. His head was undergoing a dull throbbing thanks to having hit the stitches earlier. "We should be getting back to work." As he walked to the door, there were two quick knocks. He opened it and one of the guards motioned toward a young man holding a vase filled with daisies, and a puppy stuffed animal with a balloon attached. The balloon proclaimed in bright yellow letters, the standard, "get well soon" statement.

Havoc turned to look toward Roy and Riza. "Expecting flowers? They're daisies."

"They are for a Miss Hawkeye," the deliveryman said.

"They're for Hawkeye," Havoc relayed.

"One doesn't tend to expect flowers Hav--" Roy cut Rebecca's sentence off.

"She's expecting them."

Havoc nodded. One of the guards took the paper from the man and signed it to affirm that they made it to their proper destination. Havoc took the flowers and pup from the man then carried them inside. He sat them on the table beside Riza's bed. Riza picked up the puppy from the table and laughed at the sad eyes it possessed. It reminded her of Hayate when he did something bad.

"How cute," Rebecca said. She walked over to the flowers. "Wonder who sent them." She took the card sitting in the holder at the middle of the flowers and opened the small envelope. After a moment, her eyebrows creased. "It's written in a different language. I can't read the characters."

Riza took the card and looked down at it. She smiled. "I see."

"You can read it?"

"Yes. I'm not fluent in the language but I know what this means for a reason."

"What does it say?"

"Wo hen ai ni."

"Riza! What does that mean?"

"I love you very much or I really love you," Roy said.

"Oh," Rebecca said. "What language is that?"

"Xingese."

Rebecca turned to him. "Oh."

Riza looked at Roy, "Doh je."

"Huh?" Rebecca said.

"Means thank you," Roy said.

"You sent the flowers?"

"Who else would know my favorite flower when it's in season?" Riza said.

"Better yet, who would you send a card that said 'Wo hen ai ni' if it wasn't me? Unless she's having an affair."

"That's not funny . . . Colonel," she growled.

"And that's our cue to leave," Rebecca said, hurrying to the door. "We'll see you two later this evening.

"See ya Chief, Hawkeye," Havoc said and followed his fellow lieutenant out the door.

"I wonder what happened," Riza said after a moment of silence in the room.

"Ah, noticed the tension too?"

"Kind of hard not to."

"I still say she threw a lamp at him," Roy said.

"She said she knocked it onto him. How one would do that is beyond me. Lamps usually aren't in the position to fall on someone's forehead."

Roy laughed. "Maybe they knocked it over during some kinky sex."

Riza wrinkled her nose at the statement and looked over at Roy who shuddered.

"Nah," they both said.

--

"I thought we agreed that it wouldn't get awkward," Havoc said as he pulled into the hospital parking lot later that evening. He turned off the motor.

"Yeah, we did," Rebecca said.

"But its kind of hard," he said, then winced.

"No pun intended?"

Havoc glared at her but when she grinned at him, he couldn't resist returning the smile. "Good one." He took a deep breath. "Really though, we are two mature adults and we did use birth control," his eyes widened, "didn't we?"

Rebecca growled. "I swear you'd better not have any kind of disease!"

"I don't have a disease! I'm more worried about getting you pregnant!"

Rebecca relaxed. "Well don't worry about that. All female officers, unless intending to conceive, are required to take birth control. Believe me, I have no desire to emitting a six to eight pound . . . coin . . . out of my slot machine."

"Yeah that . . . Wait a minute . . . What?"

"Never mind, I don't want to explain. Anyway, the birth control rule has been in effect in Amestris for a long long time."

"Coin . . . Slot machine?"

"Havoc!"

"Oh, well that's a relief," he said instantly, though her words still lingered in his head.

"Okay then, so for real this time. No reason to be uneasy right? End of discussion. We don't have time to be awkward around each other since we have a huge secret to help Mustang and Riza keep."

"Agreed, it never happened," he said. They got out of the car and removed two bags from the back seat before heading toward the hospital entrance and going inside. Rebecca glanced at Havoc from the corner of her eyes as they entered the elevator.

"I never did apologize for the lamp. I really didn't mean for it to fall on you," she said.

"Is this elevator a confessing booth or something?"

"It's the only place where we can talk about certain things without the risk of being overheard."

Havoc laughed. "Well I figured you didn't do it on purpose. How did you knock that lamp on my head anyway?"

"I jerked the covers out from under you and you tumbled onto the floor. Then the night table rocked back and forth a bit, it has always been really unstable. The lamp was too close to the edge, then bam!"

"And then what did you do?"

"Freaked out, got dressed, and by the time I did that you were waking up a bit. After that I helped you get dressed and then we took the bus to the hospital."

"Ah," he said, "well I remember the bus ride very vaguely. How in the heck did you manage all that when you were drunk?"

"Well I was asleep and sobered up a bit. I can't figure out if you actually passed out when you hit the floor from the bed or if you are a strong sleeper. I'm pretty sure if you were asleep, the lamp knocked you out."

"Alcohol puts me to sleep," Havoc said as the elevator door opened to the proper floor.

"That explains a lot. You got a few strange looks on the bus ride to the hospital."

"Why didn't you call an ambulance?"

"I was hung over, not thinking smartly."

"Hope no one we knew saw me."

Rebecca shook her head. "The bus wasn't crowded like it is during the day."

"That's good to know," he said.

----------

They got to the door of Roy and Riza's room, now void of any guards, and entered.

"Ready to go?" Rebecca asked.

There was a nurse standing near Roy, smiling at him sweetly as he signed the papers. She was standing a bit closer to him than necessary. Riza was clearly not happy with that fact; though no one other than her closest friends would notice the death glare she was projecting toward the nurse. Roy however, wasn't paying attention, focusing instead on signing the paper on the clipboard he held. Rebecca walked over and sat down on Riza's bed, handing Riza the bag she was carrying. She leaned toward her friend. "It's illegal to murder anyone, and it wouldn't be good to injure her here because we are in a hospital. We can snipe her when she gets off work if you want," Rebecca whispered.

Riza looked at her and laughed. "I need to change clothing," she said. "Thank you for bringing these."

Rebecca stood and pulled the curtain shut before turning around so that Riza could change. Her friend was very modest even around other women, an endearing trait that most found rather odd. Riza was Riza and she wouldn't change her friend even if she had the capability to do so.

"I'm glad you brought a skirt," Riza said, "I couldn't imagine trying to balance to get into pants right now."

"I figured that much," Rebecca said. "I considered bringing a skirt for Colonel Mustang, but I opted against it and let Havoc get his clothing."

"You are so funny Catalina," they heard Roy say.

"Do you need any help changing?" the nurse said. Riza jerked her sweater over her head and growled. "You should go get my prescription," Riza snapped.

"She's right. You never brought it," Roy said, handing the forms back to her.

The woman frowned and shot a menacing glare at the curtain, as if the bad auras could drill through the fabric and hit Riza on the other side. She clutched the clipboard to her chest.

"It's been called in at the pharmacy downstairs," she said with force civility, "all you have to do is pick it up."

"Thank you," Roy said.

The nurse made her way out of the room, walking a bit harder than normal as she left.

"Think she's mad?" Havoc asked, making Roy and Rebecca chuckle.

Havoc hand him the bag and Roy quickly changed. He walked around the bed and up to the curtain.

"Decent?"

"No," she Riza joked.

"Can I see?"

"Gag me now," Rebecca said, pulling the curtain out of the way. "Seriously, you are going to make me nauseous."

Havoc laughed, "I'll go pull the car. Do they have wheelchairs for you two?"

"I hope not, I hate those things," Riza said. "I'm perfectly capable of walking."

"Are you sure about that?" Rebecca asked.

Riza nodded. "Besides, its not too far is it?"

"No, not with the car pulled around to the front," Havoc said.

"I thought it was hospital regulations that if you were wheeled in you had to be wheeled out," Rebecca said.

"They'll live," Riza muttered.

Havoc walked to the door and just when he opened it, two nurses came in with two wheelchairs.

Thankfully, the flirty nurse wasn't one of them.

"Looks like you'll have to live with the regulation Riza," Rebecca teased.

--

As soon as Riza walked into Roy's apartment, she felt like crawling into bed and never coming back out. She was thankful the creaky old elevator was working otherwise she probably would have collapsed on the trek up the stairs. She walked into the living room and smiled widely as Hayate ran toward her, his tail wagging and his tongue flopping from his mouth. She sat down her stuffed animal and flowers, and then walked over to sit on the couch. Hayate put his pawls upon her lap and she petted him affectionately, equally as happy at seeming him as he was of seeing her.

Roy instantly moved to his favourite chair, sinking down into the warm soft fabric furniture piece.

"Why is Hayate already here?" Riza asked. "Didn't you take care of him?"

"We brought him over here before we went and got you and the chief," Havoc said.

"I see. Has he been fed?"

"Yep, I fed him and gave him water right before we left him here."

Riza looked up at her and smiled. "Thank you Becca," she said.

"Don't mention it," she said. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me."

"Same goes for me," Havoc said.

"Thanks, you two. For everything," Roy said with genuine sincerity. If it weren't for the two of them he didn't think things would turn out nearly as well as they did.

"We'll explain everything when time permits," Riza said.

"Don't worry about that," Rebecca said, "we know enough. We'll support you in any way possible."

Before Roy and Riza could respond, she and Havoc were out of the room. The door to the apartment shut and locked, leaving Roy, Riza, and Hayate alone.

"Good friends," Roy said after a moment of silence.

Riza nodded.

"Why don't you get to bed," Roy said. "I can tell that you are still exhausted.

"How's your arm?"

"It will be fine. I've had much worse. It's the bump on the head that did most of the damage. I'll be okay. I'll build a fire."

Riza stood. "Come to bed after you do that?"

"Roy grinned and wrapped his uninjured arm around her shoulder. He led her into the bedroom and over to the bed. "After not sleeping cuddled up with you for two nights, you better believe I'm going to bed with you." He kissed her forehead and pulled away. She sat down on the bed and kicked off her shoes as he began building a fire, easily putting the wood in the fireplace with his good arm while slipping his gloves over the hand of his injured arm; he snapped, bestowing orange yellow and blue flames upon the wood in the fireplace.

Riza pulled her sweater over her head and threw it on a chair by the bed, the cool air around her more relatable to alleviation than infliction. Roy walked over to her, removed his glove, and sat it on the bedside table.

"What do you want to sleep in?"

"I want a shower," she said.

"That's not safe. You could collapse and hurt yourself."

She frowned. "I feel like shit, I don't want to continue to smell like it too. I'll lean against the wall and take a quick one. Just enough to wash my hair and-"

"You can barely stand still without toppling over," Roy snapped. Riza nodded and sighed heavily. Roy walked over to the closet. "What do you want to sleep in?"

"I don't care," she said in a tone that displayed her annoyance as effectively as a crystal glass displayed its contents.

He unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off, wary of his injury. "I'll have to keep this arm out of the direct spray of water."

"Huh?"

He turned to her. "Come on, I'll take a shower with you and help you," he said.

"You'd do that?"

He extended his hand to her, a chuckle interlacing with his tone as he spoke, "You act like it's such a sacrifice."

She took his hand, stood, and they walked into the bathroom. She sat down on the chair they kept in the room as soon as she got to it, her breathing laboring from the slight exertion. "You sure you want to take a shower?"

"Yes," she said.

Roy turned on the water. "How hot?"

"Just warm will do. I feel all gunky," she said.

He laughed. "Gunky?"

"Don't make fun of me." She pouted like a child, an uncharacteristic gesture for sure, but she certainly felt like a one at the moment.

Roy tested the water and began removing his clothing. When he was undressed, he helped Riza stand and removed what remained of her apparel before leading her under the comfortable spray.

"Too hot?" he questioned, moving to stand behind her.

She sighed and shook her head as the water hit her. Her hair absorbed the water and began clinging to her body. Riza reached for her shampoo, poured some in her hands, and worked it into her hair as Roy moved an arm around her waist just in case she wavered. When she was satisfied that she massaged the shampoo in her hair adequately, she redirected her body so that the water was pounding down on her head, ridding the soap from her yellow tresses.

Roy reached up and moved the tresses behind her under the water so they rinsed off effectively as well. Then he began working his hand through her hair, making her sigh and lean back against him. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

Roy grinned. Riza always did like when he rubbed her head like this. He leaned down to kiss her forehead before removing his hand and grabbing a washcloth. He poured some soap on it, before slowly running it over her skin.

"Hey, I can do that," she protested, straightening her posture and reaching for the cloth.

"Stay still," he said, "and let me do it."

She instantly gave up and leaned her head back to its previous place against his shoulder. "If I felt better, I'd have you against that shower wall by now," Riza said as she shifted closer to his body.

"Don't say stuff like that," he scolded. He held the washcloth up to the water to rinse off some of the soap before taking it over her body once again. He moved her further under the water so all the soap washed off her skin, the cleansing bubbles swishing down the drain in small whirlpools.

"All done," he said.

She opened her eyes then turned to look at him. Taking a step closer to his body, she leaned up and kissed the corner of his mouth. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," he said. He guided her out of the tub and wrapped her in a towel. She grabbed one and began drying her hair as he led her over to the chair. "Let me wash off a bit better. Then I'll help you find something to wear and get into bed."

Riza nodded as she sat down and watched as he quickly cranked up the hot water and took a quick shower. He washed and dried in half the time it'd taken her. Men were almost always quicker at such things than women were.

--

Comfort and safety overwhelmed Riza as she finally crawled into the soft warmth of her own bed, and that feeling increased when Roy lay down beside her. He frowned and sat up.

"What's wrong?"

"Can you switch me sides?"

"Why?"

"Come on, just switch me until my arm gets better," he said.

"Oh! Okay then," she said and moved over to his side as he crawled to the other. She rested back down on the bed and the reason for the switch became clear as he turned to lie on his side and pull her closer to him. If he'd tried to do that on his normal side of the bed, he would have been lying on his injured arm.

Before she could fully relax, she began coughing. She sat up so that her breath wouldn't hit Roy and run a higher risk of getting him sick. The warmth of the shower combined with her medicine seemed to lessen the coughs, but it still felt like someone was poking her lungs with needles. When they finally ceased, she took up her previous position snuggling as close as she could to Roy's warm body.

"What if you get sick?" she asked.

Roy kissed the top of her head. "I won't, I'll be fine. Just go to sleep. I'll wake you in a while so that you can take your medicine."

"You should sleep too," she said.

"I'll doze a bit."

Riza nodded and quickly fell asleep, feeling incredibly good being with her husband in their own bed and the burden of their secret somewhat lightened by the recent events. Perhaps things would calm for a short period so they could gain back their strength. The rational side of her mind kicked in before her thoughts ceased. Things were never going to be easy and she prepared herself for the worst.

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**AN: I really hope you enjoyed the chapter and please drop a review. Very soon I'm going to have a oneshot about what happened with Rebecca and Havoc that night. ^_^ . Please drop a review my way if you have time. **

**AAN: Also, my friend TheDarkSpirit has made another trailer for this story that's even better than the first. However, YouTube won't let certain countries watch it. If you go to my profile and click the link to my blog, you can see it there. There is also a youtube link posted there for his account for those that can watch it on there and would like to favorite it. Please post a comment on the blog if you can't on youtube. He'd like your feedback on the video. **


	62. Anniversary of the

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 62: Anniversary of the . . .  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist but I do own my original content and my idea. **

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**Anniversary of the . . .  
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The lock on the door clicked open and Roy slowly entered his apartment, wary of how much noise he made as he walked, and the thump of the heavy door as it made contact with its frame. Riza was probably sleeping but that didn't mean that the slightest noise couldn't awaken her from her slumber. Slipping off his shoes at the table beside the door, he made his way into the kitchen, no longer cautious about his footsteps. He lifted the bag he carried onto the table, cringing as he stretched his arm a bit too quickly. He dropped the tote he carried over his good shoulder down onto the chair beside him.

He jumped slightly when he heard a bark, followed by his wife's voice, "Roy? What are you doing with those?" He muttered a "damn" and then turned around. Riza stood in the doorway, her eyes still salved with sleep and her hair was tussled in various sized strands extending in different directions.

He opened his mouth to answer but nothing would come except for the standard "um" that usually followed reflexively before a proper answer was given.

"Have you been out alone?"

Roy laughed nervously, "Maybe?"

"Roy," she scolded, "what if Scar had been out? What if--"

"I dropped by headquarters to check things out," he interrupted. "There was a fight somewhere else in the city. Scar's jacket was found with a layer of blood."

"And your point?"

"With the amount of blood it would be too risky of him to be out in public. According to the doctor that studied it, if he's alive he wouldn't be able to move very quickly because of the blood loss. Don't be angry."

"Do you really think that's going to work?"

"What?"

"That excuse," she said.

"Huh? But it's the truth."

"You didn't know his current circumstances when you left the apartment, did you?"

"No," he said.

"And what are you doing going to headquarters anyway? The doctor told you to take a few weeks off because of your arm. It's only been five days. Besides, it's not like you to actually show up at work when you don't have to an--"

"Riza, please stop nagging me. I went because I was worried about the issue with Scar."

"You are completely contradicting yourself!" Her voice rose in volume but a bunch of coughs halted any more berating that threatened to come forth.

Roy walked up to her and rested his cool palm on her cheek. "Calm down," he said, "nothing happened. Everything is fine."

Riza moved away from him and over to the sink. She got a glass of water and drank it all without stopping to take a breath. When she was done, she turned around to continue her conversation only to halt in her words when she saw he was holding up two familiar cartons of ice cream, her sore throat, and cravings rejoicing at the sight. "Do you know how much I love you?"

"Because of ice cream?" he asked and sat the cartons down on the table.

She walked over to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and smiled. His arms snaked around her waist; he leaned down and kissed her.

When he pulled away, his grin was still plastered upon his lips. "You know, there's chocolate syrup and cherries in the bag too."

She smiled. "I wish I felt better or I'd really show you how I feel."

Roy moved in to kiss her again but the shrill ringing of the phone blockaded his intentions to do so. "Damn phone."

She laughed and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Go answer it. I'll get the ice cream."

"Ice cream for breakfast?"

"In these circumstances it's allowed."

"Oh, I see," his amusement clearly displayed in his voice.

Roy pulled away from her and answered the phone. "Hello?"

_"Hey Roy! How ya feelin' ?"_

"Hello Hughes. I'm feeling better."

"That's good to hear. Imagine, surviving Scar but just getting hurt in a protest. Kind of funny," he said.

Roy's eyebrow twitched. "Yeah, really funny," Roy said sardonically.

"How's Hawkeye?"

"Good I think," he said.

"You think?"

"Do you think she lives with me or something?"

"She should! You mean you haven't even checked on her? You have to take care of your future wif--"

"What in the hell do you want Hughes?" Roy snapped. He turned when he heard a laugh and saw Riza standing there looking at him with a grin on her face.

"I wanted to tell you something! It's important!"

"What is it?"

"We are having Elecia's third birthday party today!"

"And?"

"I just wanted to tell you that! It's so exciting my little girl is all grown up!"

"Hughes, she's three!"

"But soon she'll be four, then five, then six, then seven and then—"

"Okay, I get it," Roy cut in. "Aren't you supposed to be working?"

"Oh, I'm here at work now, but I'm about to take the rest of the afternoon off," he said.

"With everything as busy as it is?"

"Hey, a man needs a break and especially when his little girl is turning three!"

"I'll send a birthday gift for her. . . Wait a minute. Wasn't Elecia born last week?"

Hughes chuckled. "Yeah, but I was all after Scar and stuff so we are having her party this month! Today to be exact."

"You already said that Maes."

"Yes, I'm just so excited!" He sighed. "I'm so lucky to have a daughter. You know you'd be lucky to have one too!"

"I get that you are proud of your daughter. You don't have to use the military's phone system to convey that fact. Everyone in the military knows it and if they forget, I'm sure you'll remi—oh hell, they won't forget.

"I'm not only proud of my daughter you know? I'm also proud of my stunningly beautiful wife!"

"I wonder if there's a way to turn someone into a roast via the phone system. Care to help me find out?"

"I'm just so very scared Mister Flame Alchemist. Speaking of alchemists, have you heard anything more about Scar? Are you keeping up to date?"

"Yeah, I dropped by headquarters today. There was a large explosion in the city, they found numerous bodies but his wasn't among the ones we've looked through. They found his bloody jacket alongside of the tributary but nothing else. There haven't been any sightings of him in east area so he's either laid up with injuries, or among the bodies not yet identified. The majority opinion is that he's dead but I'm not going to go on opinion."

"It would be a relief if he were dead. Does the majority opinion and lack of sightings mean that the Elric brothers' bodyguards will be dismissed? Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Broch have been working almost 24/7 due to lack of manpower."

"Who?"

"They are two people under the command of Major Armstrong," he said.

"Ah, I see. Well, since the Elrics' are in Central, I'll leave it up to whoever is in charge there to decide. It's not my call after all."

"Ed wasn't happy with it."

"Ed wouldn't be happy with anything I did even if I brought back his brother and restored his arm."  
Hughes guffawed. "I wouldn't go that far."

"I would."

Roy was thrown off guard when Hughes' voice grew serious. "There's something else. Speaking of people being in charge, the people from Central in charge of maintaining the state alchemists have all been killed. They are short-staffed in that area at the moment you know. It's rather interesting."

"Is that so?" Roy instantly understood what Hughes was implying.

"I've heard talk that one Colonel Roy Mustang may be invited to Central."

"Central huh? Returning there might not be so bad," he said.

"If the talk is true, you are going to have to be very careful. You'll make even more enemies than you already have by joining military command at your age."

"I'm prepared for anything."

"You need to make sure that you have as many people around you as possible that understand and support you."

"Right."

"In various ways. Various ways of supporting! Supporting in various ways."

"What in the—"

"So hurry up and marry Hawkeye so that you'll have a good wife!"

Roy growled and threw the phone down on the receiver. "Give it a rest!"

"Roy, don't slam the phone down so roughly. You'll have to buy a new one if it breaks."

Roy stalked over to her. "That man is impossible."

"What was it that I heard about Central?"

"Rumor of a transfer," he said.  
She handed him the two cartons of ice cream and he moved to put them in the freezer before also taking the chocolate syrup and cherries from her and putting them in the fridge. When he turned back around, she handed him his bowl.

"That's going to be dangerous. I'll have to keep my guard up. That is, if you choose to take me with you," she teased.

"You are always on guard when we are at work," he said then kissed her forehead. "I'd be lost without you. When we get to Central, you'll have additional duties with Maes around."

"Oh?"

"You have to protect me from his cameras and photos. Think you can do that?"

"Do I get hazard pay?"

Roy laughed. "You know, I don't think anyone would fault you if you asked for it."

Roy and Riza crawled into their soft bed after they finished eating their ice cream. Both instantly moved to the middle of the bed, propped up the pillows and leaned against them, Riza fitting tightly into Roy's embrace, cuddling against his chest. She heaved a sigh of comfort and Roy nuzzled the top of her head in response. He smiled and tilted his head back against the headboard also letting a sigh escape him. Moments like this were what made life worth living.

Everything was quiet, with only the occasional tick of the clock or his wife's breathing breaking up the peaceful ambiance. The lights in the room were off, the fires orange luminance accompanying the steady streams of sunlight insinuating between the narrow breaches between the curtains on the windows. The smells of the cracking pine being eaten by the flames mixed with the vanilla that Riza sprayed on the sheets, and the lavender of her shampoo, mixed together in a dance of scents that blended into uniqueness.

"Riza, you asleep?"

"No," she said, "just comfortable."

"What do you want to do tomorrow?" She sat up and looked at him quizzically, making him laugh. "And they say men always forget that special day. You don't know what tomorrow is?"

"No."

"Our anniversary," he said.

Riza's eyes widened. "Damn! I seriously forgot."

Roy laughed. "Don't worry. One can hardly blame you for forgetting with you being sick and all. So what do you want to do?"

"There's not much we can do. We aren't exactly supposed to be out and about too much."

"How about we cook dinner together and then I can kiss around on you all night."

"That's strange wording."

"What? Cooking dinner?"

Riza nudged him gently with her elbow. "No, I'm talking about the kissing around comment."

"Well I can't very well make love to you when you feel the way you do. So I'm just going to kiss you until you faint," he joked.

Riza blushed. "But . . .I'm feeling better!" she protested.

Roy's lips quirked up in a teasing grin. "You miss it don't you?"

Riza's face crimsoned. "Maybe, I mean . . . I'm going to take a nap!" When she started to lie down, he grabbed her gently and pushed her on her back. Crawling over her, he held her arms at the side of her head and laughed.

"After all these years, you still get flustered, so cute."

Her blushed deepened and shifted her body so that she was more comfortable. "So," she said, "what do you want for our anniversary?"

"I don't need anything but you around," he said.

"Roy," she said frustratingly.

"You can't give me that?" he teased.

"It's ridiculous."

"But it's the truth," he said. "You are the only thing I want," he leaned in to kiss her lips briefly, "and the only thing I'll ever need. You are my most precious person." He buried his nose between her neck and shoulder and took a deep breath. "I love you."

She pushed back the tears threatening to emerge from her eyes. The sincerity of his words, words that most would find cliché or bromidic, touched her heart. He'd never cease to be able to give her such warmth merely by verbalizing feelings in such a simplistic manner. He let go of her arms and she wrapped them around him, resting her palms flush against his back.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"The same as you," she said. "As long as you are here, I'm happy."

"Hummm, well you know that means that you're not going to get rid of me."

"Good."

--

The next evening Roy came through the door once again, this time making no effort to keep silent in entering the apartment. Riza had agreed to let him go out and get a few things for their anniversary dinner after he convinced her he would only go down to the corner shop and that he would carry an umbrella and wear his gloves.

"I'm home," he said as he walked into the kitchen.

"With all the noise you made coming in, I could probably tell that if I lived in Xing," Riza said. She was stirring the contents of a saucepan, the spoon making an occasional scrape against the side of the cookware. He walked to stand next to her and sat the bag he carried upon the counter beside the stove. He leaned to his left and kissed her cheek before removing the items from the bag.

"I got everything on the list you wrote."

"Thank yo. . ." she trailed off when he held up a daisy in front of her. Glistening water droplets resided on the white pedals like unshed tears. Occasionally, one would lose its ability to adhere, flow down the smooth pedals, and pool in the middle of the flower.

"Where did you get this?"

"I picked it along the road. I was going to buy you some flowers but the shop I went to didn't sell them. He reached into a bag and pulled out a chocolate bar. "I got you candy too!" His voice was like an excited child that had a birthday and was ready to open presents.

Riza took the daisy and began laughing, the sound coming out so joyously that it made a smile spread across Roy's face as well. Riza took the chocolate from him before kissing him on the lips. "You know, the guys at the office would have a hard time that you can be so sweet," she said when she pulled away. "I'm glad I'm the only one that knows this side of you."

Roy nodded. "I wish I could show you out in public."

"I don't need such things made public. As long as I have you, I'm happy," she said.

He didn't respond to her statement. He turned and removed the final item from the bag before crinkling up the brown paper container and tossing it in the trashcan. "Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked.

"You could brown the hamburger meat in that skillet," Riza said as she put the chocolate in the freezer and the daisy in a tiny vase she'd filled with water.

"Okay," he said.

She returned back to stirring the sauce in the pan as Roy popped the ground beef in the skillet and turned on the heat. As he stood beside her, his left arm snaked around her waist and pulled her closer.

"I wish I could take you out for dinner at a fancy restaurant too," he said.

"You say that every year."

"And every single year I mean it." He sighed and looked over at her.

"You know, I was thinking about something regarding our marriage on the way back here."

"Oh?"

"When we get married for real, as in an actual wedding, will that be our anniversary

or will this day be?"

"Isn't it too early to plan that? We might not live to see that day."

"Don't be so pessimistic," he said, knowing that what she was saying was the complete truth. It hung in the back of his mind all the time like an outfit that hung in a closet, just waiting to be worn for a once in a lifetime occasion. He tried to talk of the future to give him some positivity to counter the pessimism deep in his thought processes. "Play along."

She grinned. "Well we could get married on this day and that way your question wouldn't be an issue."

"I didn't think of that," he said. "New rings?"

"No way," she said. "I don't want a new ring. You bought these for me after I arrived in Central."

"God that was hell," he said.

"Hell?" she asked, glancing toward him.

"Yeah, I went as far as to change my hair color with alchemy and I wore sweats and sunglasses just so I could get those rings without being discovered."

"Why the cautiousness?"

"A few months before I bought your rings, I'd worked up quite façade concerning my playboy reputation. If they saw me buying engagement rings, it would ruin the act."

"Who are you kidding? I heard about your reputation before you started feigning it."

Roy winced. "Only a small percentage of that was true."

"Yes, I know."

"Does it still bother you? The things I did after I left your house. After we—" he swallowed some saliva that had built up in his throat, "after we broke up?"

"You mean after you sent me that letter indicating that I didn't deserve you and all that bullshit?" she asked, her tone harsh.

"I was stupid," he said.

"Yes, I agree. You were." She removed the pot she was tending to off the heat and poured it into a bowl. She sat the pot in the sink and turned to him. His focus was on the meat browning in the cast iron skillet and his lips were forged into a frown. "I don't know if you were stupid for breaking up with me in particular though."

His gaze shot to her and the frown he donned on his lips straightened. "What do you mean?"

"I'm plain, didn't and still don't have any real feminine talents, I'm not thin, nor am I abnormally busty. I have nothing in common with the girls you normally take out on your fake dates."

"I take Christmas's girls out on fake dates. They are like my sisters."

"Yes, but don't you like women that look like them?"

Roy took the meat off the heating element laid the spatula he was using on the stove and turned off the element.

He shook his head. "I don't need any other woman no matter what she looks like. You aren't plain. I don't' care about feminine talents, whatever that is. You are curvy, which I love by the way, and your breasts are perfect. They aren't my favorite part of you though."

Riza blushed. "What is your favorite part?"

"I love everything about you."

"I know that but what is your favorite?"

"Do you really have to ask?" he questioned, trailing his hands down her side and under the split in her skirt.

Riza laughed as his hands tickled her skin. "I suppose not."

"I love when these legs wrapped around my waist or when I can run my hands down them," he said. He moved his lips to her neck. "I dreamed about you doing that when I was no longer with you. When I was alone in my tent in Ishbal, before I saw you there." He trailed his lips along her jaw, and up to bite her earlobe as his hand moved toward her center.

She reached down and stopped his hand. "Not yet," she said.

"Why?" he asked, continuing his attentions to her earlobe and neck. He reached around with the hand she have hold of and unzipped her skirt.

She moaned when he bit the skin at her shoulder. "Because I need to give you your present first," she said.

"I thought you were my present," he whispered and moved his head so that he could stare into her face.

"I'll be one of them," she said. "I was thinking about what I could give you as a gift while you were gone and came up with it when Rebecca called me."

"What is it?"

"My present is letting you tell Maes," she said.

Roy's eyes widened. "Riza, are you relapsing?" he asked then raised a hand to feel her forehead. She grabbed his hand and moved it to rest at her waist. She shook her head.

"I think you should tell him. After Rebecca and Havoc found out, I realized that maybe we needed the help in keeping the secret. Maes could run damn good interference like he did the time we went on vacation together."

"You trust him enough?"

"He knows that something is going on between us and hasn't let it slip. I think we can trust him with our secret."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. We can even tell him together if you want."

Roy brushed her lips lightly with hers once. "Thank you." He lifted his hand to hold her chin and then kissed her again, this time adding more pressure to the melding of their lips. She closed her eyes, relaxed and worked her lips against his.

The phone began ringing and Riza pulled away. "You should get the phon--"

"Leave it. It's probably Hughes calling to gloat about Elecia again.

"But—"

He lifted her into his arms, ignoring the pain in his injured one as he carried her out of the room, ignoring the phone's frantic scream.

* * *

**AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. There's a oneshot called Unanswered Call that takes place the same exact time as the last part of this story. It is very important to go along with this. I didn't post it as a chapter of Best Kept Secret since this story mainly focuses on Roy and Riza and I wanted it to be read near the same time as this chapter. Please check it out and please drop a review my way if you have the time. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this. **


	63. Death Cares Not

**Best Kept Secret  
**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 63: Death Cares Not **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. **

**

* * *

**

**Death Cares Not**

A few curses emerged from Riza's mouth as a loud knock sounded against the door to the apartment. She moved to ignore it but when the knock grew more insistent, louder, she opened her eyes. She rolled over to face Roy, who was still sleeping soundly through the loud knocking. His arms were wrapped around her in a tight embrace and his mouth was open slimly, a calm direct flow of air and a light snoring noise coming from him.

"Roy, let me go, there's someone at the door," she said.

Roy moved his head to rest between her breasts and nuzzled the mounds of flesh with his nose, just like a dog would nudge his favorite squeaky toy to hear it squeak. "Roy, let go!" She poked him in the ribs, making him jerk, but he didn't loosen his hold. She sighed. She turned so that she was resting on her stomach, and then turned and twisted her body until she was free of his hug. When she moved to place her knee on the bed after her mild contortionist work, she missed and her naked body ended up hitting on the cold wood surface.

She shivered and got to her feet. She grabbed a thick cotton robe she kept on a chair, slipped it on, and secured it tightly. Glancing at the clock on the wall made a grimace appear on her face. Who had the nerve to come to Roy's place at seven am? She slipped on her house shoes and made her way to the door.

A yawn left her and she stretched in sleepiness before placing her hand on the doorknob. It was then that her full thought processes activated. She couldn't answer the door in Roy's apartment unless she checked who it was first. She looked through the peephole in the door, hoping it was either Havoc or Rebecca. If it weren't she would be imparted with the encumbrance of attempting to wake Roy before daylight suppressed the night.

She sighed in relief when she saw it was indeed her two friends. Both were dressed in their uniforms, an indication that they were either going to work or had been there. It wasn't unusual for Rebecca to be dressed this early for work but Havoc didn't have to go to work until a bit later.

When Riza opened the door and let them enter, a worrisome feeling struck her body. Their postures were too stiff for the mellow personalities that nature opted for them. They were walking formally with hands at their sides, as if they were getting ready for inspection instead of visiting a friend early morning. And that was something else that made her uneasy: it was too early for a simple check in. Riza closed the door and locked it.

"What's going on?" she asked as soon as she turned toward them.

"Where's the Chief?" Havoc asked.

Riza tensed at the serious tone Havoc used. The cigarette he normally had in his mouth, a testament of his laidback attitude, was gone and his lips formed into a straight, serious shape.

"Is Roy in danger?"

Rebecca shook her head. "No more than usual. That's not what we are here to talk about. Is he still sleeping?"

"Yes, but I can wake him if you need to talk to him. It might take me a while though to get him up."

"No, don't wake him up," Rebecca said. She grabbed Riza's wrist and led her into the living room.

"What's going on," Riza asked again, unused to the way Rebecca was treating her.

"You are probably going to need to sit down," she said.

Riza wanted to protest but upon seeing the look her friend was displaying, one of even more seriousness, she halted her dissent and did as Rebecca suggested.

Havoc and Rebecca sat down and stayed quiet for a few moments. Rebecca closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Havoc rubbed the back of his head once before resting his hands on the chair arms.

"You two! Answer my question!"

"It's just that we thought that we'd know how to break the news. We discussed it in the car. Then when we got to your door, our decision of how to tell you disappeared and now we really don't know what to say," Rebecca said, barely pausing between sentences.

"Just come out with it."

"Mustang and Hughes, they are best friends right?"

"Yes Rebecca, everyone knows that."

"Armstrong tried to contact you over at your place but couldn't, so he asked me to break the news to Roy. Friendly concern and all that," Havoc said and took a deep breath.

"I found out and . . . well I'd done this several times during Ishbal so I came to offer my support to a fellow officer and. . . Well I don't know how helpful I'm--"

"Okay! Stop the rambling and get out with it," Riza said, quickly growing tired of the way they were telling of the circumstances and not getting to the news they needed to break. "It's early, I still feel shitty, and would like to go back to be. . . ." Her mind, which seemed to be on delayed processing, suddenly began taking their words and piecing them together like a mental puzzle that would give her the news that they were going to tell her.

"Okay, Riza, Maes Hughes wa--"

"Rebecca," Riza interrupted, "you were ordered to . . . you were ordered during Ishbal to report the deaths of the soldiers killed there."

"Yes," she said.

"You mentioned Maes and that Armstrong tried to contact me. . . Havoc having to break the new . . . Maes, he's . . ." Her skin prickled and her stomach tightened.

"Maes was murdered in a telephone booth a couple blocks from headquarters last night," Havoc said.

Riza gripped the arm of the couch to balance herself. Her entire body felt as if an earthquake was occurring around her. It was the strongest earthquake she'd ever experienced. Jolting everything in her with jerks, and pushes, and pulls of grief. Adding those sensations to the occasional lingering dizziness, courtesy of her pneumonia, wasn't a pleasant experience.

The saliva that normally formed in her mouth dried and turned into a bitter taste on her tongue at the thought of speaking that Maes Hughes was dead. She opened her mouth to respond, to voice her disbelief, but no words formed in her mind. How could that kind man be dead? How could fate take someone like Maes? No, it wasn't true.

She sat back against the couch and took a deep breath. Her mind kept repeating that it had to be a mistake. Some sick joke right? No, it couldn't be a joke either. She knew they weren't the types to go along with a joke about something so horrible. The two people in front of her were void of any of the teasing and good-willed expressions on their features and their faces were formed into stoic masks of seriousness.

"Could it be a mistake?" she asked when she was finally able to form a sentence.

"Armstrong saw the body," Rebecca said.

"Oh," she said. "No mistake then."

"No," Rebecca said, "no mistake."

"Want me to tell the chief?" Havoc asked. "I can come back when he wakes up if you want."

"No, I'll tell him. I'm surprised no one else called here before you guys came." The last word cracked as it emerged from her mouth.

"Armstrong was put in charge to notify of the news," Havoc said, "I don't think he would be as untactful as to tell the Chief something like that over the phone."

"We wanted to come and tell you before we told Mustang," Rebecca said. "We came early in case of the off chance you wouldn't be here and someone did decide to overstep and call."

She grabbed a tissue and walked over to the window before her two friends caught sight of her tears. Rebecca already saw her cry once and one time was too many. "Thank you for telling me in person and not calling instead."

"Are you going to be okay?" Rebecca asked.

"Yes. It's not me I'm worried about," Riza said.

"Is there anything we can do for you?"

"No," she said. She opened a curtain and looked out into the grey dim sky decorated with darker grey clouds, foretelling of rain. She looked down and her eyes caught notice of a few specks appearing on the concrete edge of the window. Starting out as a gentle and limited tap, it increased until it was pouring down upon the earth. The water droplets hit the pavement and tops of the buildings with an unnerving and repetitious tap, sounding more like stones hitting upon the surface rather than mere water.

Riza exhaled heavily. "Damn it. I don't know how to tell him. I just can't come out and say it." Normally she would bluntly tell him about matters whether he wanted to hear them or not. However, this wasn't the circumstance where being direct was the best policy.

Rebecca stood and walked over to Riza. She placed a hand on her friend's shoulder but Riza didn't move to look at her. "We'll leave you alone to think things over, okay?"

Riza nodded.

Havoc stood. "Are you sure you don't want me to come back later and tell the chief?"

"No, I'll tell him."

"If you need us, just call," Rebecca said.

Riza nodded again.

Rebecca looked at her friend worriedly but didn't speak again as she and Havoc left the apartment.

"Are you sure it's okay to leave her alone like that?" Havoc asked.

"I know Riza almost better than anyone. She needs time alone to sort out her thoughts."

Riza squeezed her eyes shut. She used the tissue in her hand to wipe away the tears squeezing out of their corners and running down her cheeks. Resting her head against the window, she remained motionless as her skin grew numb because of the cold glass.

For one of the very few times in her life, she was extremely happy that Roy tended to be a deep sleeper once he actually fell asleep. She had time to think about how to tell him about Maes. No matter the way she told him, it would be a desperate hit to his heart. She was tempted to call Havoc and ask him to tell Roy after all, but it was a fleeting thought. As his wife, she felt it her responsibility to break such news. Perhaps hearing it from her instead would lighten the burden marginally.

"Riza, are you feeling okay?" a sleepy voice asked.

Riza froze in her spot and her mind cursed the fact that he was awake. "What are you doing up?"

Roy walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed the back of her neck gently and chuckled. "I can only sleep so long when I realize you've left the bed."

"Oh … um . . . oh," she stammered, then cursed at herself for sounding so nervous.

He straightened and turned her around to face him. His eyes widened. "Why are you crying?"

Riza's eyes mimicked his own and she shook her head. "Not crying. My eyes are watering," she said and tossed the tissue she was holding into the trashcan beside her.

Roy grinned and kissed the cool red spot that had appeared on her forehead. "I don't want you to get sicker. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. Why are you up anyway?"

"You didn't hear the knock on the door?"

"No," he said.

Riza sighed inwardly. She thought he would have at least heard the knock even though he refused to relinquish his hold on her body at the time.

"Who was at the door?" he asked.

"No one," she blurted out before she thought better of it. Sometimes she surprised herself at how stupid she could be when she wasn't very composed. Perhaps she would go to Briggs for a month and take some of Olivier Armstrong's survival training. That was enough to restore a soldier's composure by first driving them batshit insane.

"So the knock was by a nonexistent person? A ghost?" Roy said with a joking tone.

She nudged him. "It's early and I wasn't thinking clearly. It was Rebecca and Havoc checking in to see if . . . to tell me something important."

"What was it?"

Riza's heartbeat increased and the beating sounded so loudly that she could hear the thumps. She stared into his eyes unflinchingly, desiring to look away but keeping herself from taking that action.

"Roy, I have to tell you something."

"What is it?"

She placed both of her hands on each side of his face and smiled comfortingly. "Roy. . . I . . ." She couldn't bring herself to continue. She hadn't structured the words the way she wanted yet and her brain was refusing to structure them on the fly. "I love you," she finally said.

Roy laughed. "I love you too." He pressed her tighter against him but suddenly loosened his hold. "Why are you so tense?"

"Tense?"

"Yeah, you are wound tighter than a spring."

Riza moved to rest her head under his chin. "I'm not tense."

"You are acting strange. What's wrong? What did Havoc and Rebecca say to make you so uptight?"

"I'm not acting strange. It's just . . . Well wouldn't you be acting strange if someone interrupted you when you were cuddling with your husband?"

"Um… I would find something wrong if I was cuddling with a husband."

She looked up at him but didn't laugh despite the teasing grin on his lips. She tiptoed and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly; she pushed her tongue between his lips and teased his. Roy closed his eyes and accepted the kiss, fully enjoying her attentions.

When they pulled away and Roy looked at her serious expression, his own turned from one of happy amusement to one of worry. "Riza, you can tell me anything so tell me what's the matter with you."

Tears began to develop in her eyes and he reached up to wipe them away gently. He leaned in and kissed her cheek, taking one of the tears away with his lips.

"I have to tell you something but I just don't know how."

"Then just tell me outright."

"I don't think I can do that. I took this on from Havoc but . . . Damn I don't want to say the words to you."

"Are you leaving me for Havoc?" Roy joked.

Riza jerked away from him. "This is not a time to be joking around!"

He started to respond to her anger but the phone rang, cutting off the words poised on his lips and replacing them with another sentence. "Who in the hell would be calling this early in the morning?"

Roy walked over to the phone and picked it up. Riza's eyes widened when she heard Roy say, "Good morning Major Armstrong. Yes, Havoc was here." Riza rushed over to him, grabbed the phone from his hand, and slammed it down.

"Riza! Why in the hell did you do that?" The phone rang again. She lifted the receiver and hung it up once more.

"Now is not the time to take a phone call," she said.

"It could be important," he said and placed his hand on the phone. "I'm going to call him back."

"You can't!"

Roy chuckled. "What's wrong with you today? You know, if you are afraid of me slamming the phone down, I assure you that I usually only do that when Maes is on the other end."

Riza cringed and a painful look appeared on her face. She felt like someone stabbed her through her heart.

Roy took his hand off the phone and placed it on her shoulder. "Riza, why do you look like someone just died.

She lifted her hand to his face as more tears formed and poured out of her. Looking into his eyes, she took a deep breath and spoke. "Someone did Roy."

Roy's eyes widened and he placed his hands on her hips. "What! A friend of yours? Riza, why didn't you say so we can . . ." He halted his speech when she placed two fingers over his lips.

"Roy . . . you won't be getting anymore calls from Maes."

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******A****N: This was hard. If you've ever had to tell anyone about the death of another, you'll understand Riza's hesitance even more. If you haven't, then I hope that you'll never have to break that kind of news to someone.**

**There's a ****new chapter coming very soon. I didn't really want the chapter to be as short as it is (around 3000 words) but it felt right to end the chapter at this particular point. From now on, due to time, there may be more updates with slightly fewer words (around 3000-4000 words). I tend to write better and quicker if I do it that way. Please review if you have the time to do so. They are much appreciated and encouraging. **


	64. Dealing?

**Best Kept Secret  
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**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 64: Dealing? **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. **

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**Dealing**

Roy shook his head once as a confused expression painted across his face. "What do you mean he won't call?"

She took his hand firmly, feeling his soft skin against her more calloused hands, and led him over to the couch. His feet dragged against the floor as he walked. She knew that he realized exactly what she meant.

"Sit down," she said.

"No, I. . ." his gaze was off in his eyes and his voice sounded like he was in a trance.

"Roy, please."

"Maes, he was the one that you were . . . no . . . You have to be wrong Riza."

He pulled his hand away and walked over to the phone quickly, his feet thumping harshly on the floor. He picked up the receiver and began to dial a number. She walked over to him, grabbed the phone from his hand, and sat it back down on its base. "Roy, he's not going to pick up. He . . . Maes was murdered."

Roy ran a hand though his hair and shook his head. "No, don't tell me that. I don't believe it."

Riza growled. "I wouldn't lie about something like that!"

"When in the hell did I accuse you of lying!" he asked. "I'm saying that there was a misunderstanding and it wasn't Maes! It had to be someone else! Let me make the call back to Armstrong!" Roy picked up the receiver once again and tried to dial the number, his fingers fumbling for the right digit. Finally, he slammed the phone down. "Goddamn it!"

Riza placed a hand on his shoulder. "Roy, just calm dow—"

Roy jerked toward her. "Would you be fucking calm if you heard something like this about a friend of yours? About Rebecca?"

"I . . ." she stammered for a response. No, she wouldn't be calm if she heard the same thing about Rebecca. She picked up the receiver and dialed Armstrong's office. She handed the phone to Roy and took a step back from him. She tensed when she heard the Major's booming voice over the line.

"Major Armstrong. Lieutenant Hawkeye has just notified me that Maes Hughes is . . ." he trailed off. Riza watched as her husband grew paler, the words spoken on the other end of the phone accomplishing the task of draining the color from his skin. The phone was shaking in his hands as he listened to Armstrong speak on the other line. "I . . . I see. Thank you for telling me Major. Thank you." Riza hadn't heard Roy's voice so distraught since Ishbal. He hung up the receiver and kept his gaze focus downward. "He's really dead."

Riza moved behind him and hugged him around his waist, resting her head against his back. "I'm sorry Roy."

Roy reached up and rested his hand on hers. "I . . . thank you for taking the responsibility for telling me."

He turned around and pulled her against him, letting his weight rest back against the table. He buried his face in her hair and took a shuddering breath. Riza knew he was holding back tears and also knew that telling him to let go would just bring about refusal.

"It hurts," he said. "Damn it, it hurts."

"I know," she said. "I know Roy." She felt him hug her tighter and moved her hands up to rub his back. "Why don't you go lay down for a bit? If anyone calls, I'll let you know. Okay?"

"I won't have you wait up and do everything. I'm not feebl—"

She looked up at him. "Don't continue with that sentence. I know you aren't feeble. You just lost your best friend, let me do this for you. Okay?"

"Okay Riza," he said and let go of her. They made their way back to the bedroom and Riza got dressed in her pajamas as Roy lay down on the bed. She leaned down and kissed him gently on the lips before leaving the room. After making herself a hot cup of tea, she settled down on the couch to await further phone calls.

((-----******************-----))

Roy felt helpless as he lay in bed staring up at the tile ceiling. Every single square a perfect 12 by 12 proportion, every square perfectly fitted together to create a perfect ceiling. Everything was damned perfect! He twisted to lie on his side, his body facing Riza's side of the bed. He didn't want to lay there; he wanted to get his ass to Central and find out more details regarding Maes' death. However, with Riza looking at him with that pleading aura in her gaze, he couldn't help but relent to her request for him to rest while she waited for a phone call. Despite his words to her, he was indeed feeling the most feeble he'd ever felt. He felt like he was clawing an improbable hope that he would get another phone call saying his friend's death was a hellacious mistake.

He returned to lying on his back and closed his eyes, trying not to let tears spring to his eyes. If Riza came in and saw him crying of all things, it would only make her worry. Despite her insistence that she was feeling fine, he knew she still carried a good deal of her illness within her. He had to think about what was best for Riza. He couldn't have her get sicker and end up losing her too. He already felt like he was dying. Losing Riza to death would be the final stroke to the proverbial throat that was his life. He closed his eyes and tried to forget that he was living in a bad dream. After a short time, his mental exhaustion caused sleep to overtake his body.

His sleep was short lived, or so he thought when he opened his eyes. He glanced over at the clock and saw that he'd been asleep for four hours. He stood from the bed. Was he dreaming everything about Maes? Walking into the living room, he saw Riza sitting on the couch, Hayate resting beside her and a book resting on her lap. She looked up at him and smile sadly, an indication that no, it wasn't just a nightmare and Maes really was dead.

"Any. . . did anyone call?"

"No, so I called Armstrong. The funeral is going to be the day after tomorrow so I got tickets for us on the evening train."

"You're coming?"

"You had doubts that I would?"

"You're still sick," he said.

Riza placed her book down on the table beside her and shook her head. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

"Impossible," Roy said and flopped down beside her on the couch.

"You want some breakfast?

"I'm not hungry."

Riza nodded. "How about a cup of coffee?"

"No," he said.

Riza looked down at her lap as an intense helpless feeling overtook her. She needed to be doing something, anything for him. She'd made enough phone calls to everyone she knew to find out a bit more before calling Armstrong, only to come up with nothing. Armstrong had told her that details other than when the funeral was would have to be spoken about in person since everything was under investigation.

Her gaze fell to her feet, clad in the new dog slippers Roy bought her a few weeks ago, the cute dark eyes staring back up at her with pity. They reminded her so much of Roy's eyes when she'd told him. When she heard a real bark, she turned to look at Hayate. Her pup had moved from her right side and was now sitting on Roy's lap, his head against Roy's shoulder. Roy's hand was absently running down the dog's back as his eyes focused ahead of him, his body lost in thought.

"You sure you don't want any coffee or breakfast?" she asked again, hoping he'd change his mind.

"Saying no once should be enough!" Hayate quickly jumped off Roy and rushed to sit on Riza's lap, he showed his teeth and began growling. Roy looked at the angry pup and then at Riza and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. I shouldn't take this out on you." He stood and walked to the door, "I'll just go over to my place and leave you alone for a bit and—"

Hayate moved from her lap as she stood and walked over to Roy. She placed a hand on his shoulder and turned him slightly. "Roy, this is your place."

"Oh. . . that's right," he said, though she could tell the though t didn't quite register with him even though she confirmed his current whereabouts.

"Do you want me to leave you alone for a while? I can go over to my place with Hayate," she said. Though she really didn't want to leave him alone, she would, (with occasionally sniper stealth monitoring of course).

"No, don't go." He raised a hand to her cheek. "Never go."

She reached up to touch his hand, brought it to her lips, and kissed it. "I won't."

The train jerked and hissed as it pulled out of the depot at the town between East City and Central. The trains were never crowded at night so it wasn't much of a surprise that the car was now void of anyone except Riza and Roy. Early that evening, on the way to the station, neither had spoken a word. Riza didn't know what to say and Roy didn't want to say anything. As soon as they stepped out of the door to their apartments with their small suitcases, a fog of tenseness drifted over them. It'd never happened before and neither knew how to react. So they stayed in uncomfortable silence on the walk there, on the wait, and now in their present environment.

Roy glanced over at Riza. She had her hands clasped together and she was twiddling her thumbs in rhythm to the steady clack of the wheels on the tracks and the metal latches on the windows that hit in unison against the dark brown walls. He studied the slight wrinkle between her brows, a half furrow that accomplished minimal expression on her beautiful face. The dark circles under her eyes were more vivid upon her paler than usual skin. He knew it was a bad idea for her to go on this trip, her recovery from her pneumonia not yet complete. She gripped her coat tighter and pulled it around her.

"You cold?" he asked, his voice coming out a bit cooler in tone than he intended.

"I'm fine," she said, looking at him and smiling, the smile having no hint of joy in it at all. Of course, it wasn't as if he was expecting or even wanting any expressions of happiness at that moment.

"You shouldn't have come if you are still sick."

"I'll be okay."

Roy sighed and stood. He took off his coat and walked over to sit beside her. He spread it over her and leaned back against the seat.

"You are going to get cold. I have a coat, take it back."

"No. Keep covered. I'm fine."

"You are going to get sick!"

"I don't matter."

"Yes you do!" Take it back."

"No!"

"Damn you! Stop being so stubborn," they said at the same time. They stared at each other and both heaved an in-unison sigh.

"Just take the damned jacket and stay warm. The air is just cooler to you because you still have traces of pneumonia."

Riza frowned. "Is there anyone left in the car?"

"No," he said. "That was the last stop other than Central. I assume that people going to Central are in another car."

"First class," she said. "I booked this one because I figured you wouldn't be very comfortable there."

Roy nodded.

She scooted closer to him and spread the coat over both of them.

"Riza, what are you doing?"

"Compromise."

"Ah."

"No one will come in."

"Yeah. You're right."

Riza directed her gaze back out the window and Roy folded his arms and stared down at the tip of his boot. He felt like he was riding to his execution. His body burdened with the weight of knowing Maes wouldn't be greeting him anywhere in the city. The only thing that would greet him in the future would be a funeral and a damned stone bearing his best friend's name.

He looked over at his wife to see her head was leaned to the side and her eyes closed. Her breathing was slow, an indication that she'd fallen asleep. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer so that her head rested on his shoulder.

He couldn't take care of his best friend the way he should have but he would certainly take care of his wife. She was now the only one in his world that he could trust fully and that meant to world to him right now.

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**AN: This will be the last short chapter before things finally pick up more speed and the chapters will become a bit longer (still between 3500-4000). I'm actually expecting to finish this year if all goes well. Currently I'm swamped for the time being with finals for my online classes and work on my new house. I only have about an hour and a half to write now per day. For my stories, I'm trying to strive to have an update per week, sometimes two unless I get writers block on my other stories. I thank you all so much for the response to last chapter and I hope this short one didn't disappoint. Please drop a review if you have the time. **


	65. Cold

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 65: Cold**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction.**

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**Cold**

Roy threw his suitcase down onto the double bed in the hotel room. The hotel they found was just outside the city limits and they'd managed to get the very last room there. He and Riza couldn't get their normal individual rooms due to the overcrowding. With a convention in town and the yearly military evaluations, both the hotels and the barracks were filled with people. Fortunately, this could be used as a reasonable explanation as to why he was sharing a room with his lieutenant, that is, if anyone asked. He doubted the people in the hotel with bother paying attention to such a circumstance.

Roy turned around when he heard a thump and click. Riza was standing at the small dresser, removing her uniform from its neatly folded position in the brown case. She attached the hanger to a hook but cursed when it broke away from the wall and sent her uniform tumbling to the floor. Bending over, she calmly picked it up, dusted it off, and draped it over the back of the chair beside her. She removed two other outfits, both civvies, and stuck them in the drawer of the dark brown and gold chest.

Roy's gaze fell to the hook lying on the floor that was very much like the hotel in which they were staying, old and dilapidated. The exterior appearance of the hotel was enough to make him want to find a car and sleep in it. The gate outside was falling off the hinges and the chipping paint on the building yelled that the structure was in desperate need of repair. It was very likely the owners couldn't afford it. If there wasn't a current overcrowding, he figured this place would be empty. It was the fault of the large chain hotels that were springing up in the city and around the rest of the country like stone and steel weeds. Big business was good for the economy but horrible for the small business owners. It was always the small, weaker ones that lost everything. They were always the ones that lost foremost: their possessions, their money, and their . . . lives. It was always the weak that suffered from the strong when it should be the strong that helped the weak.

"Want me to unpack for you?" Riza asked, breaking up the direction his thoughts were heading; the direction that they'd been maneuvering ever since he heard that his best friend was dead.

"No, I can do it." He stood and tinkered with the latch on the suitcase a few moments before slamming his hand down on it. "I can't get the damned thing to open! I keep pulling up but it won't open! Damn thing!"

Riza looked down at the suitcase then back at her husband, trying not to let a look of pity wash over her features. She walked over to him and rested her hand atop of his. "You need to flip it the other way since the suitcase is upside down. She turned the suitcase to its proper side, flipped the latches upward, and opened the suitcase.

"Well aren't you smart," he snapped.

"I like to think so yes," she returned calmly.

Roy looked over at her as she pushed him out of the way and began removing his clothing from the case. Her eyes avoided his as she took to her small task. She turned to the chest of drawers but Roy grabbed her wrist and swung her towards him, making her drop the clothing in her grasp.

"Roy, what's wron—" He kissed her, efficaciously knapping the question. She closed her eyes and returned the kiss. As he began working his lips faster and faster against hers, rougher and rougher, she swore that she could taste franticness upon his lips along with the mint gum he chewed on the train.

He pulled away and without a word, bent to pick up the clothing she dropped and put them away. He picked up the hook and walked over to where it previously hung. After drawing a transmutation circle on the wood with a piece of chalk, he rested his hand on it and after a red glow, it was secured to the wall once more. He grabbed his uniform and hung it up before hanging hers up on the same hook.

"It might break again with the extra weight."

"It won't," Roy said.

He turned back to her. "Did you call Armstrong for me?"

"I called while you were checking in," she said. "Armstrong said that the viewing will be from 9am to 7pm tomorrow at Mid-Central Funeral Home."

Roy nodded.

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"If I said no, you'd go anyway so I won't answer that. Do what you want." Roy shrugged off his jacket and threw it on the floor before taking off his shirt and tossing it toward the chair, missing it by a few feet. "My depth perception sucks today."

Riza bent to pick up the clothing, keeping her comments to herself. It wasn't his depth perception making him mess up on the small tasks. It was his lack of focus. It would be foolish to ask if he was all right so she would try to give him all the support she could during this time. She would steel her feelings about Maes' death and her worry for Roy so that she could be the best and most helpful to him at this time.

Roy took off his pants and Riza caught them before they actually hit the chair. She folded up all the clothing and sat them on top of the dresser. He shrugged off his undershirt, leaving him clad in only his boxers. This time instead of throwing the piece of clothing, he walked over and sat it atop the ones Riza folded.

"Sorry for making you fold those. From now on I'll do it myself."

"That's not something you need to apologize for."

He nodded. "Sorry," he said before turning away from her. Without another word, he crawled under the covers at the left side of the bed, his back towards her. She smiled gently and removed her nightgown from the dresser before going into the bathroom for a quick shower.

After her shower, she emerged from the bathroom. She quickly combed her still damp hair and then walked round the bed to crawl underneath the covers.

**(------------)**

Roy was sleeping before she lay down in the bed across from him. As soon as he felt the mattress shift with her weight, he was awake instantly. She was lying beside him, her back facing him and her body motionless. His eyes drifted from her hair down to the back of her neck, then down to her shoulders. The scar marred her otherwise perfect body but he knew to her, the scar was something precious: something that symbolized her individuality. He lifted his hand to it, slowly tracing around the edges of the scar with the very tips of his fingers. She shifted her shoulder and a little laugh left her.

"I thought you were asleep," she said.

"I was," he said.

"Sorry I woke you."

Roy scooted closer, bent down, and let his lips drift upon the scar.

"That tickles," she said.

"Lay on your stomach for me."

Without question, Riza moved to lie upon her stomach. She felt his hands rest on her shoulders and a few kisses at the back of her neck. She shifted her body again. "What are you doing?"

Roy didn't answer her question as his hands inched along her shoulders. He slid the straps of her nightgown down her upper arms, taking the top of her nightgown with them.

"Roy?"

"I . . . I need to see you."

"Oh," she said, unsure of why he needed to see the tattoo. It didn't much matter though; it was his to look at whenever he wanted.

She jumped slightly when she felt his tongue lick along the red ink and her shoulder blade, an occasional kiss or nip thrown in periodically. She shivered as he kissed the middle of her back, the feeling extending from that spot outward across her back, down her limbs and to the very tips of her toes and fingers.

She shifted and tense d her shoulder blades together before relaxing once more, letting a small whimper leave her lips. After the noise left her, he instantly stopped and fell to his side of the bed, resting on his back. "I'm sorry Riza."

She turned her head towards him and sat up, the nightgown slackened at her breast but still covering them. "For what?"

"I don't want to make love to you just to forget what is going on."

She reached down and turned his face to look at her. "Will it help? Do you think you can really forget for a while if you do that?"

"I get drunk off of you," he said honestly. "It's a high I experience in a way. You're a drug."

Riza laughed and leaned down to brush his lips gently with her own. "If it will help you for a while, take what you need."

Roy stared into her eyes so full of love for him that he couldn't resist her. He pushed her onto her back and took everything she gave him. In the high of their lovemaking, he momentarily forgot about the mournful path the world had taken.

**(-----------)**

Riza and Roy stood outside of the room where Maes' body was located for the viewing. Roy stared at the door, his hands shoved in his pockets and his fingertips fidgeting.

"Do you want me to go in with you sir?" Riza finally said, noticing Roy's hesitation to enter. He stared at her for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"No, I'll be right back," he said. He took a deep breath and pulled the heavy brown door that lead to the viewing hall. As soon as the door shut behind him, he found himself with the desire to run in the other direction. The vision of the black casket ahead of him hit him with auras of dread already but seeing its lid ajar slightly and his friend laying there was enough to turn him into a coward and cause him to desert his last visitation.

Roy took a step, hoping his legs weren't going to fail him and send him tumbling to the ground in a heap of distress flesh and blood. Both fortuitously and regrettably, he made it with slow steps until he was standing three feet away from the coffin. Maes appeared as if he was just taking a nap. His face was molded in quiet smooth lines and his glasses perched in the exact manner that he always wore them in life. He vaguely wondered if there was a picture of Elecia somewhere on the body.

Roy took another step, fighting the desire to shake Maes and try to wake him up, a stupid and futile action to think about. There was no waking up from this. He took yet another tread, this time upon one of the stairs that lead to the coffin.

It was then he noticed that Maes was wearing his formal military dress uniform. It seemed so wrong. Maes only remained in the military to push him to the top to change things. He held no love for the military so it was distressing to see him buried in his uniform. No, it was distressing that he was being buried at all. It just didn't feel right. He felt as if he should be the one in that casket. Not his best friend. Not a kind man who never wanted to hurt anyone. He may have murdered but Roy knew if there was a god, it was likely that the being would forgive Maes more than anyone else.

"I'll find out who did this to you Maes and I'll get revenge. Not only for you, but for Gracia and Elecia."

Roy sat down on the step in front of the coffin and leaned against the platform. "Damn it, I wanted to believe it was all a dream but it's really not. Until I saw you there I . . ." Roy brought his knee up to his chest and rested his right arm upon his knee. "This isn't right. It' isn't Damn it." Roy began processing the way to do a human transmutation though his head and tried to figure out where the Elric's failed. Roy closed his eyes and suddenly remembered the time Maes visited him in his apartment after Ishbal. When he was contemplating trying to bring back the people he killed. It was the first and only time Maes punched him to knock some sense into him.

"No Maes," Roy said, keeping his eyes squeezed shut. "I won't do it. Riza would kill me anyway."

Roy laughed bitterly. "You know, I never got to tell you Maes so I hope you can hear me when I tell you now. Riza is my wife. I wish I could have told you. I really do. I know you would have been happy and . . ."

"Wife?"

Roy sat up straight and saw Gracia standing at the door. Her cheeks were wet and raw and the white of her eyes a painful red shade. Her hair wasn't as neat as it usually was and her posture was slouched. Roy wanted to run again but held his ground as he got to his feet, holding onto one of the chairs situated in the hall. "Ye . . . yes."

Gracia walked over to Roy and stared up into his eyes before a resounding slap echoed into the room. "Why didn't you tell him? Do you know how much joy that would have brought him! Now he's dead and will never experience that happiness!"

"I know," Roy said. "We kept it a secret for your own safety. If it . . . I. . . I'm sorry."

Gracia sighed and reached up to rub his cheek. "No…I…I'm sorry," she said and walked up the steps to stare down at her husband. She moved to rest her hand on his cheek. "This isn't Maes. Maes wasn't this col…he wasn't this cold. Never cold." Gracia fell to her knees and began sobbing. "Why did my husband have to die? What did we do to deserve this?"

Roy kneeled beside Gracia, surprisingly keeping his composure. A lump formed in his throat and his tonsils felt like they were on fire. He placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. "Why?" she asked again.

"I don't have an answer for that," Roy said. "I wish I did."

(------------------)

Riza slowly shut the door to the hall and leaned against the wall beside it, relaxing significantly. She'd opened the door to check on Roy when she'd heard a yell. Thankfully he was, physically at least, okay. She looked down at her feet and cringed as a feeling of envy washed over her. She cursed the fact that she actually felt left out of the grief people were experiencing. While she cared about Maes, she couldn't relate to the intense grief that Roy and Gracia shared for the man. She felt horrible that those types of emotions were coming to her but emotions weren't exactly unavoidable in this case.

"Ma'am, are you a friend of the deceased?"

"Oh, yes. I'm waiting on his best friend here though," Riza said to the young woman that approached her.

"There's some tea and food in this room if you'd like some."

Riza nodded. "Thank you."

Riza walked into the room, made herself a cup of tea via the hot water and teabags on the table, and grabbed a small sandwich from the tray. She sat down on one of the soft chairs and took a bite. She cringed at the food and tossed the sandwich in a nearby trashcan. She didn't feel like eating. She took a sip of the tea and relaxed the best she could considering that she felt like her sickness was relapsing. She had to add the fact that a funeral home wasn't exactly the epitome of places to relax.

She knew Roy was going to have an even harder time dealing with this tonight. Seeing Gracia's reaction was just adding fuel to the raging grief that was burning inside him. She almost wanted to go inside that room and yell for them to stop. That would be insensate and cruel. There's no way she'd ever allow herself to stoop to such pitilessness when there was such a horrible loss drifting over everyone.

When it came to loss, Riza found herself rather inexperienced, at least not to the point where she understood grief. She was never allowed to mourn her mother properly. Having an early understanding of death sort of softened the blow of things. Not being allowed to cry over her mother, missing but not crying or mouring her father, made her a bit insensate to situations concerning death.

Her friends hadn't died, she'd never lost her grandfather yet, and Roy was still living. Her stomach twisted at the thought of him being in the same position as Maes. It was then that she could partially relate to the way they were feeling. Of course, the pain of losing Roy wouldn't hit her; it wouldn't have time to sucker punch her. If he died, she'd take out her gun and shoot her brains out. That was the only way for her. Either she'd followed him to the top of the military or she'd follow him six feet under and into hell if it existed. She promised him that.

She stared down into her teacup, still feeling more like an emotionally drained robot instead of a flesh and blood human being who was worried about her husband and friend.

"Riza?" Riza looked up and saw Gracia. She looked like a wreck. Riza tried to offer her a sympathetic smile but her lips froze into a neutral expression. Riza stood and felt herself go into auto soldier. It was better if she remained a rock for the people around her.

Gracia walked over and hugged her tightly. When she pulled away, Gracia smiled kindly. "Roy told me about the two of you. I'm glad he has you here for him in this har...hard time." Her voice faltered.

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you. It was…"  
"Don't worry."

Riza nodded. "How are you holding up? How's Elecia?"  
"She doesn't understand me when I tell her that Maes isn't coming back. As for me, I'm holding steady until it hits me again."

Riza nodded again. She just couldn't think of words to comfort the woman no matter how much she wracked her brain for them.

"Roy is still in the viewing room. You should go see him."

"If you need anything. Don't hesitate to call. We are staying at the Rinoaebastel Hotel."

Gracia smiled and nodded. "Thank you. Be sure to take care of Roy." Admiration shot through Riza upon hearing Gracia's words. The woman lost her husband but she was still concerned for someone else. "I will. You just make sure to take care."

"I will."

When Riza stepped into the viewing hall, her body instantly turned cold. The lights in the room seemed much dimmer since she'd glanced in earlier. The coffin seemed much further away than it had been. Roy was sitting on a chair in the second row of chairs. He was sitting up straight staring directly at Maes.

She walked down the aisle and sat on the chair to Roy's right: in the row behind him. If he heard her come in, he made no signs of knowing it. She looked at the casket for a minute before standing and walking up to it. She'd seen her share of dead bodies in her life but usually the corpses were in twisted and filthy positions and states. The way it looked like Maes was still asleep tended to make a cold chill of creepiness rush across her skin.

She withheld a jump when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Roy. He held no expression on his face but his eyes told of everything he was experiencing. "Let's go. I want to get away from here."

**(------------)**

As soon as he walked through the door of their room, Roy took off his coat and undressed.

"Why are you undressing? It's the middle of the day."

"I need to sleep some more," he said.

"Don't you want any lunch?"

"No," he said as he unbuttoned his shirt and jerked it off a little harsher than necessary. "You can go eat if you want."

She nodded, a sudden feeling that she was unwelcomed seeping into her body.

Roy turned to look at her as she stood at the door, her coat still over her shoulders. "Are you still sick?"

"A little bit," she said.

"Why don't you lie down for a while too?" Though his words displayed concern, he spoke them in a neutral, cold tone. As if he was preprogrammed to say them instead of actually giving a damn about her well being.

"I'll leave you alone to rest."

"You don't have to leave."

"But I will anyway. You clearly want to be alone."

"Damn it! Don't make me feel bad for wanting to be by myself!" He lashed out at her.

"I wasn't!"

"Yes you were. I can tell by your tone that you don't want to go! If you don't want to leave the room then don't!"

Anger shot through her and her words came out before she could think. "Why would I want to stay here with a self-pitying bastard who lashes out at the closest target!" she screamed back. She instantly regretted her words to him.

Roy froze. Did Riza just call him a. . . He narrowed his eyes at her. "Self-pitying bastard? It's better than a cold bitch."

Riza took a step back and nodded. She opened her mouth to speak but couldn't form words. She knew she shouldn't have said what she did to him. She knew she deserved his words. But that didn't mean they hadn't gutted her.

"You're right," she finally said. "I am a cold bitch. I can't even imagine what you are going through right now. I'm cold. Cold cold cold. So maybe this cold bitch should be outside," she said, keeping her voice calm. "I'm sorry I can't help you."

She opened the door and left the room before Roy could respond.

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**Note: Civvies are civilian clothing as opposed to a military uniform. Sometimes students that wear school uniforms call their street clothing civvies. **

**AN: I was hesitant to do the Roy having sex with Riza part because its done in so many fics about when Maes dies. The fact of the matter is that it seems to me that it's realistic. I think Roy would be clawing onto anything that made him forget the grief. This chapter was particularly hard since I had to go back and think about what was going through my head when I lost my best friend but at the same time cater to Roy's personality. This is my interpretation and people may see things differently of course. I did my best. ^_^ **

**Anyway, I hope you found the chapter enjoyable and please leave a review if you have the time.**


	66. Riza's Venting

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 66: Riza's Venting **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction other than writing practice. **

**AN: This site is still being screwy with my formatting so some of it might be a bit off**

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**Riza's Venting**

As soon as she stepped outside of the hotel, Riza instantly felt horrible for the way she acted toward Roy. He was grieving and she just made it worse by being a greedy, sensitive woman. This was about him and his sorrow. Her feelings didn't matter in the slightest. All this time he was such a good husband, always concerned for her and the minute that he acted otherwise, and for good reason, was the minute she acted horribly towards him.

She turned to go back into the small hotel to apologize but paused as soon as her hand touched the doorknob. She released it and moved her hands behind her. "Maybe it would be best if she took a walk to get her thoughts straight and give Roy time to calm down as well. He clearly wanted time to himself and that was what she could give him to make up partially for her unreasonable behavior.

She turned back around and made her way down the street, half-heartedly smiling at the people that greeted her and the kids that smiled and waved at her. Before she realized it, she found herself standing in front of Madame Christmas's bar. Things like that always happened when she just let her feet take control.

As she stared at the brown door, she contemplated whether to go inside or turn around and leave. She adored Madame Christmas and the girls and it was rare that she paid them a visit. She knew they'd welcome her openheartedly but Christmas would likely realize that something was off with her and mention it. That would cause her to open up to the woman, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing; it was just something that she wasn't used to doing with anyone but Roy. The Mustang family obviously had a gift for getting people to talk and she vaguely wondered if Roy's birth father might have been an interrogator. Instantly dismissing the silly thought, she opened the door and walked inside. As far as she was concerned, it was the best place for her to go to gather and structure her thoughts efficiently.

"Welcome to Christma -" A young woman looked up from her work writing in a large book. Her honey-colored eyes widened as her sentence trailed off. "Riza!" She stood and moved over to hug her.

"Hello Riri," she said.

"Huh? Did you say Riza?" Jami asked, as she walked into the room. She smiled widely when she saw her "brother's" girl. "Riza! What are you doing here?"

Riza smiled. "We were in Central so I thought I'd stop by." It was a partial lie of course, but Riza couldn't tell them the truth.

"Where's Roy?" Vanessa said, bounding into the room and over to Riza. She pushed Riri out of the way and hugged Riza as well. Vanessa's smile faded when she saw the look on her face. "You look tired. So pale. Come over here and sit down." Riza let the girls lead her over to a barstool just as Madam Christmas came into the room from a door behind the bar.

Riri and Jami sat down on either side of Riza. "Riza, it's good to see you. What are you doing here? Aren't you stationed out East with Roy?" Christmas asked as she studied Riza's appearance. "Are you feeling alright?" Riza jumped when Christmas placed her large hand on her forehead. "Hmm. . . It's just a small fever."

"I'm in the late recovery stages of pneumonia. The doctor said I should be able to go back to work at the end of this month. I just decided to visit here since we are in town for a funeral." She ended the sentence with a small nervous sounding laugh.

Christmas instantly detected her nervousness. "Girl's don't you have chores to get done?"

Jami started to protest but halted when Christmas gave her "the look." Upon finally seeing that look, Riza realized why Roy's manners were excellent when he was a student under her father. Growing up with Christmas had to be a rather tense experience.

"Riri, the soup and sandwiches are almost done. Go check on it and when the soup is done bring Riza something to eat."

"Okay," Riri said. The three girls stood from their seats and hugged Riza again before leaving the room.

"I heard about Maes Hughes," Christmas began as soon as the girls were out of the room. "They made a big deal of him in the obituaries. He's dubbed a martyr for the great country of Amestris and the fuehrer is proud to have such a soldier." Christmas said the last sentence as if she tasted something bitter on her tongue.

Riza cringed at hearing the word obituary and only nodded in response at Christmas's statement.

"Roy is taking it hard of course."

Riza looked down at the red oak that made up the bar, her eyes trailed along the darker wood grain that was intermingling with the redness. "Yes, very much. And I don't kn . . ." She was unsure of how to continue. Talking about her feelings seemed like an extremely selfish thing to do.

"You are feeling helpless aren't you?"

Riza looked up at the older woman, surprised that Christmas could read her so well. She thought for a moment and didn't understand why she was so shocked. Christmas was always like that. There were times she wondered if the woman possessed some mind-reading capabilities. "I can't help him. For the first time I can't relate to him or know what I need to say. I let him use me as a punching bag bu-"

"What! He hit you?" Christmas interrupted.

Riza raised her hands in front of her. "No! No, that's not what I meant," Riza protested, making sure Christmas didn't get the wrong idea. "I mean that he's been hostile, only verbally though. Nothing overly violent. Just his temper is on a string and I don't know wha . . . I . . ." Riza let a growl leave her. "I don't know how to help him other than to just let his words roll off me and let him get his hostilities out and talk. We made love but. . . No, it wasn't lovemaking. We had sex when we got here. It was Roy trying to forget for a while. It was just plain release, no good feelings other than physically within the entire . . . I don't know how to explain it."

Christmas nodded. "I understand. What you should remember is that Roy thrives on contact with you. You've been together all these years. He loves you more than anything Riza. You are doing all you can for him right now. Just be there when he needs you and give him space when your judgment tells you to."

"I can't relate as well as I wish I could. I don't remember much about how it felt to lose my mother since my father told me to just forget about her. I didn't mourn my father or miss him much because our relationship was strained at best."

"In a way, I envy you."

"Huh?"

"The experience of losing someone you love is the most devastating event that can ever happen. There's envy over the fact you haven't gone through that, but another part of me pities you. You haven't experienced it and that might make it much harder for you to deal with the grief when it does happen.

Riza nodded, her stomach tightening with dread that it might, no, it would happen someday. "I see."

"So what else is wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You felt helpless with Roy but I can tell there's something else."

"It's selfish but I was feeling sorry for myself and how Roy was acting. I yelled at him before I left so I also feel guilty. I shouldn't be thinking of myself at a time like this."

"Yes you should."

"I should be focusing on Roy."

"You always focus on other people. It's not selfish to take time for yourself."

"Roy sacrifices all the time for me, yet I do nothing when he needs me."

Christmas laughed. "You do nothing? Not from the way I see it. Anyone that knows you will disagree with that fact. It's only natural that right now you feel hurt because Roy is acting differently. You are used to a loving Roy whereas this one feels like a stranger right?"

Riza nodded. "He doesn't seem like the man I'm in love with."

"It will pass. He'll be back to old Roy. Well, as close as he can be. It will take some time though." Christmas placed her hand on top of Riza's head and rubbed it, a gesture she saw the woman do to Roy on more than one occasion.

"Thank you Christmas," Riza said.

"You're welcome. And I want you to know that if you need to talk about anything at all, or need me to straighten out that son of mine, you just have to come here or pick up the phone."

Riza chuckled at her words. The small laugh was a foreign but not unwelcomed sensation.

Riri soon came into the room carrying a tray with soup and a sandwich for Riza. She sat it down in front of her. "Here you go."

"Thanks Riri," Riza said.

Riza surprised herself by eating the entire sandwich and finishing off the bowl of soup. She hadn't been hungry at all in the funeral home and the thought of food was making her a bit nauseous. As soon as she took a bite of that sandwich, she got her appetite and ended up eating like a starving woman. She reasoned it was because she vented to Christmas and the ambiance there was a hell of a lot better than that of a funeral home.

When she finished she thanked Christmas and started to make her leave. She paused when a series of loud hits sounded upon the roof before wave after wave of the sound pounded down in constant rhythm. They all turned to the door when it opened and Raven walked inside. Her already tight clothing was sticking to her body, and her long black hair was plastered against her peach skin. Her cheeks were adorned with a red flush and her breathing rapid, probably from running there.

Riri left the room to get Raven a towel as the woman began complaining.

"Damn weatherman said it was supposed to be bloody sunny all day. I could barely see a foot in front of me as I ran here!" Riri handed her the towel as Raven left the room.

"Looks like you are going to have to stay for a while Riza," Vanessa said.

"What time is it?" Riza glanced at the clock and was stunned to see that it was evening." Where in the hell did the time go?"

Christmas reached over to the shelf to her right and flicked a switch on the radio. A horrible song filled the room and everyone cringed. She proceeded to switch the channels until she finally got one that was talking about the weather.

"Thunderstorm warnings are in effect for Central city and its outer towns 100 miles to the west until midnight. Visibility is zero is some areas of the city. Unless you absolutely must leave your homes please stay indoors and keep tuned to our station for further updates."

"That same damned man said that it was supposed to be all nice and sunny today," Raven snapped when she came back into the room, now dressed in dry clothing. She was running a wide-toothed comb through her long locks. She glanced at Riza and a smile blossomed upon her face.

"Sorry! I didn't see you come in! Is Roy here too?"

"No, he's back at the hotel."

"You mean you actually found a hotel in the city?"

"Outside the city. It's about half a mile from here."

"Why didn't you just come and stay here?" Christmas asked.

"I guess we just didn't think about it," Riza said. "We didn't have time to think very much."

"How's he taking it about Hughes?" Raven asked, "I never met the man myself but I know he was Roy's best friend."

Riza didn't want to talk about Roy's condition again. All she wanted was to just fall asleep, preferably with Roy but it didn't look like that was possible today. She offered a sad smile to Raven, "He's taking it as well as can be expected."

"Let's close up shop. We aren't going to get any more customers today. Not with the rain coming down the way it is."

"I thought you were only open for business at night," Riza said.

"Oh, we started serving lunch here through the day," Christmas said. "There's no one around here that does it so it was a good market for it. There are a lot of workers in this area recently since a construction site opened up a little ways down the street."

"We just have Vanessa with her big boobs pass out flyers and they come flocking here in droves," Raven joked. "We should call this place hooters!"

"Hooters? What a lousy name for a restaurant. But I guess it's a fitting one if Vanessa works there," Jami said.

"Oh you all are so funny!" Vanessa said sarcastically.

Christmas grabbed the phone from the table beside her and sat it on the bar in front of Riza. "You should call Roy and tell him you're going to be held up here for a while."

Riza nodded and sat down on the stool at the bar before picking up the phone. Christmas waved the girls out of the room and then left as well, just in case the phone call turned a bit private.

"I would like room 212," Riza said when the receptionist at the desk answered the phone. A few seconds later, the phone rang and Roy's voice came over the line. She figured he'd been napping but his tone didn't sound like he'd just woken up.

"Hello?"

"Roy, it's me."

"Riza?"

"Yes," she said.

"Why are you calling? Did something happen?"

"Yes, sort of. I am—"

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

She felt a bit relieved that he was concerned for her but instantly dismissed it. "Calm down. I'm fine. There's a severe thunderstorm passing through the area and there's limited visibility. I'm going to stay here for the night if it doesn't pass soon."

"Where is here?"

"I'm at Christmas's place."

"Why are you there?" he said. She was confused as to why he was using such a rough tone with that question.

"I just dropped by for a visit. It's been a while since we last saw her," she said, suddenly feeling as if she needed to defend herself. She relaxed when Roy's next comment was calmer.

"Okay then."

"See you in the morning," she said, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable and awkward. As if she was just speaking to someone she didn't know and wasn't sure what to talk about.

"Yeah, okay."

"Goodnight Roy," she said, trying to hide her disappointment in that he didn't say something along the lines of miss you, or I love you instead.

"Night." The phone hung up before she could put down the receiver.

She shivered as an odd feeling rushed through her in regards to her relationship with her husband. It wasn't right to question whether Roy loved her. She knew he did. As she and Christmas discussed, he was going through a hard time in his life. His mind wasn't working at optimum levels. She used Christmas's words to help her rational reasoning kick in. Just because he didn't say he loved her this time didn't mean anything. She didn't need to hear it . . . she didn't. She stared down at the phone. "But it would have been nice to hear it," she said aloud.

"Nice to hear what dear?" Christmas said as she walked back into the room. She was holding a cup filled with a steaming substance. She sat it down in front of Riza. "Tea with honey and a shot of whiskey," Christmas said. "From the look on your face, you seem like you needed it."

Riza shook her head but took a sip of the tea anyway. The bitter and sweet strength of the brew instantly relaxed her body. "It's nothing to worry about. I am a bit tired though."

"I unlocked Roy's old room for you and Jami changed the sheets on the bed. Why don't you go up there and relax. Try to get some sleep."

"I appreciate that," she said. Riza took the mug of tea with her as she ascended the stairs and made her way to Roy's room.

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**AN: I've wanted to write some Riza/Christmas interaction for a while to show their relationship so I'm actually happy with this chapter. I love writing the insecure side of Riza. Conflicting emotions are such a joy to write, though not to feel. XD **

**Also, just in case you didn't catch it in a previous chapter, Christmas knows about their relationship but not about their marriage. Hope you like it. The funeral is next chapter and I already have that finished. I just need to beta it. Please drop a review if you have the time**.


	67. Sorrow

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 67: Sorrow**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. I do own my idea so no touching that. **

**AN: If my scenes aren't separated, it's the site's fault. Every scene separator I make ends up disappearing. **

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**Sorrow**

The beautiful morning was a blunt contrast to the ranging storm that occurred the previous day. The sun was bestowing its brilliance down upon the land from its perch in the sky, no clouds daring to block its orange glow. It hugged the environment with slight warmth but a crisp coolness still kissed the air, a constant chaperon there to witness that the storm took place. Despite the chill offsetting the brilliance of the sun, it still seemed so wrong that the sun greeted the day of something so tragic. That birds were still singing out their joys of the fresh morning when crows cawing and conquering clouds would be more proper.

Riza walked through the lobby of the hotel where they were staying, and after getting a glass of water and taking her medicine, made her way up to their room. After fishing around in her purse for the room key, she stuck it in the lock and opened the door. She was surprised to find that the light was still on in the room even though Roy was laying face first on the bed. His head was at the foot of the bed, resting upon a crinkled pile of covers, while his feet were using the pillows as a comfortable place to reside. His hand was dangling off the bed, his fingertips barely skimming the floor. She looked down at his hand and a few inches away spotted a half-empty bottle of whiskey sitting on its side. The gold liquid left behind was slowly dripping from its mouth and onto the floor, creating a tiny puddle of liquid strength.

Riza closed her eyes and tried to steel her temper. This entire thing was too much. Roy mourning and snapping at her was one thing but this was a broken promise. He promised her he wouldn't drink alone anymore. In addition, consuming too much alcohol wasn't good for him, especially so since he was still on the pain medicine from his shoulder injury.

She tried to summon up every single anger control technique that she learned in her adult life, only to have them all fail miserably. Finally, she bent down, and before she realized exactly what she was doing, picked up the bottle and hurled it against the wall. The crash shattered the silent room and a curse from her lips joined its disruption. Another curse left her when she turned toward Roy and saw that he hadn't woken up. The only change in his body was that his mouth formed a wide oval and a stream of drool balanced precariously at the corner of his lips. She glanced at the clock and saw it was exactly 7am. The funeral at the graveyard was at noon so she needed him awake and sober by 11am.

While heaving a sigh of frustration, she walked over to the bed and sat down beside him. When he groaned in displeasure, her face softened and her temper decreased slightly in its momentum. She ran her fingers through the hair at the back of his head gently. "Roy, wake up."

He groaned again, shifted slightly, then stilled. It was always difficult to wake him, but when he drank too much, the task was even more arduous. She shook him again. "Roy, you need to wake up!" she said a bit louder.

When he didn't budge, her temper revved up again and she shook him roughly, making the bed shake and creak under the treatment. Roy opened his eyes and quickly moved to his side. "Damn it Riza! Wake me more gently!" He slowly moved up to a sitting position, resting one hand on the side of his head.

"I would have if you would have woken up!" she snapped. "You drank too much!"

"Not that again," he moaned.

"Roy! Half a bottle and you are on pain medicine. Do you know how dangerous that is?"

"Who cares?"

Riza grinded her teeth and she felt her cheeks grow hot. It was the first time she had to withhold the urge to choke him. "I care! That's who!"

"Why?"

Riza finally couldn't take it anymore. She'd had enough! She reared her hand back and slapped him, his face turning to the right with the force of the hit. The red patch of skin at the side of his face was the only evidence of her violence. He was lucky she just used her palm instead of her fist and that she hadn't put her full strength into the hit. She stood and glared down at him. "Why do I care? I care because I'm your wife and love you! That's why! How dare you even have the gall to ask me that you idiot? I don't want to come into a room someday and see you dead from drinking yourself into destruction!"

Roy frowned and rubbed his cheek with his hand. "You've never slapped me before."

"It's far less than what I want to do while you are acting this way."

"I lost my best friend."

"And what would Maes do if he saw you acting this way? Mourning your friend is one thing, doing something that could possibly kill yourself is another. He didn't like you drinking so much either."

"Sorry," he said.

Riza pulled him into a hug, letting him rest his head against her shoulder and noting his odd breathing pattern. "Don't scare me like that again. Okay?"

Roy didn't make a move to embrace or answer her. He just wanted to rest there and take in her smell. After a few minutes, Riza pulled away from him. "The funeral is at noon," she said, "I'll take a shower and get ready.' She stood and turned to go into the bathroom but stopped when she felt a hand grab her wrist.

"Can I take a shower with you?" he asked.

Riza nodded.

Roy stood, wavering slightly, and walked into the bathroom with her. They undressed and then got under the spray of water. Riza washed off first and then Roy went directly under the water, careful not to wet the bandage on his arm. She started to get out of the shower but decided against it. Instead, she grabbed some of the hotel shampoo and squirted it in his hair from behind. He jumped slightly but didn't verbalize any thing else as she worked in the soap with her calloused fingers. He closed his eyes and sighed. Riza chuckled softly as she noticed his body relax.

"You always did like someone playing with your hair." She guided him under the showerhead and turned him around. The water hit his hair plastering it down, his bangs sticking to his forehead. When she moved them out of the way, so that she could see his eyes, he was staring directly at her face. She gasped when he bent down and kissed her. It was brief and when he pulled away his lips never quirked into a smile or a frown, instead choosing to remain neutral.

They soon left the shower and dressed before going downstairs to have breakfast. A young waitress smiled at Roy but he ignored her instead of smiling back. She frowned but brushed it off and turned to Riza. It was usual happenings so Riza was enervated in the slightest. "What can I get you for breakfast?"

"I just want some green tea and lemon. He'll have a bacon, egg, and cheese omelet with whole wheat toast and black coffee."

"Yes ma'am," she said.

Roy looked at her, the first expression of something other than neutrality crossing his face. "Why did you order for me?" he asked.

"Because you would have just ordered coffee," she said. "You need to eat something."

"Did it ever occur to you that I might not be hungry?" he snapped.

Riza didn't like the tone he was using and decided to be just as virulent. "Did it ever occur to you that I don't give a shit whether you are hungry or not?" she retorted. "You need nutrients."

Roy sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Riza, I'm really not in the mood to eat."

"That's your own fault for drinking too much. You promised me a long time ago that you wouldn't drink more than two glasses at a time when you did drink. Then you promise both Maes and me that you wouldn't drink alone anymore. You broke that today, or have you forgotten already?"

"No, I haven't forgotten."

"Well then, the least you can do is eat. Your body apparently has adapted to having so much alcohol and your head isn't hurting anymore is it?"

"No," he said, slightly bewildered at how she knew about his lack of headache.

The waitress returned and sat Riza's tea in front of her and then Roy's food and coffee in front of them. "Have a nice breakfast."

"Thank you," Riza said.

"You aren't going to eat?"

"I had some peaches and oatmeal at Christmas's this morning before I came here."

"You want some of this?" Roy asked despite of what she said.

"No, I don't want any. Eat as much as you can okay?"

Roy nodded, picked up his fork, and began eating. He took three bites of the omelet and then ate the entire piece of toast beside it before putting down his fork. He drank his coffee and ignored the rest of his food. "See, I ate, happy?"

"No. But I am satisfied that you ate."

"What time is it?" he asked.

She looked down at her wristwatch. "It's only 8:30."

"Why did you wake me up so early?"

"Don't start complaining. I wasn't sure what kind of drunken state you would be in!"

"Here we go again," he said.

Riza sighed. "We shouldn't be arguing. Let's just go back up to the room and get dre-"

"I'm going back to the funeral home to see if Gracia needs help with some things."

"Don't you think you should go ahead and get dressed first?" They got up and left the small dining room, heading for the staircase.

Roy turned to look at her. "What?"

"We are in civilian clothing. If you go help her before getting dressed you won't have time to put on your uniform."

"I'll be ba-"

"Roy, I know the way you are. Get dressed. You won't be back in time."

Roy stared at her. "I'm not a child."

"Yes, but your mind is currently clouded and you aren't thinking rationally."

Roy opened his mouth to speak but a moment later shut it back. He nodded and picked up the pace, walking past her.

She made no move to try to catch up and paused in her steps as he opened the door to the stairs and went through it. The stab of familiarity that punctured her in the mortuary pierced her again. She stared at the door for a moment and waited to see if he would check that she was coming. When he didn't, she scolded herself, pulled the heavy door towards her, and entered the achromatic stairwell.

She sat one foot upon the first step and froze. Her body just didn't want to ascend the stairs. The stress of seeing him that morning was just starting to set in and her stomach lurched, threatening to expose her breakfast to her once again. Since they'd arrived in Central she'd been telling herself that Roy was mourning. It was a constant reverberation inside her brain that was already clouded with worry, pain, and . . . a bit of jealousy. She knew all the recent events were the reason for Roy's change in attitude but it. . .

"It hurts," she muttered under her breath. She sat down on the bottom stair and moved her back against the wall. She rested there with one knee up to her chest while the other was off the step, her foot flat on the linoleum floor.

She looked down at her lap, trying to keep invading tears from overrunning their borders. She kept repeating that Roy would be back to normal, if he ever were actually normal, in a few weeks or months. Of course, he would always miss his friend, but he would learn to live on. Of course, she would miss Maes as well. She was just learning to trust the man and found she was developing a friendship. She would miss the support that he showed Roy when she couldn't. She hoped she could fill at least half the void that Maes left with her husband.

(-)

When she walked back into the room she was sharing with Roy, he was sitting on the bed, polishing one of his dress shoes. The other was on the floor beside his right foot, already shining. He didn't' lance at her as she came in and she was thankful for that. She didn't want him looking at her when all her emotions were a wreck. She walked over to the wardrobe and removed her dress shirt.

"You'll need to get a saber from Central Headquarters before the funeral," she said.

"Huh?"

"The saber for your dress uniform. We didn't bring yours," she said.

"Ah, okay," he said.

Riza slipped the sweater over her head and jumped when he spoke again. "You look pretty in green."

Riza's eyes widened and she turned toward him. "What?"

"Green," he said, "that sweater looks good on you."

"Oh," she said and looked down at the green cashmere clothing in her hands. "You are the one that bought this for me." Her voice came out a bit timid, reminding her of the way she was with Roy when they first met.

"I did?"

Riza nodded but didn't look up. "Yes, it was on our leave up north. It was a birthday present." She turned back around and removed her skirt.

"I don't remember."

"I didn't think you did. That's why I mentioned it."

Riza heard a small thump, the bed creak, and footsteps approaching her. She froze as he paused behind her, placed his hands on her shoulders, and slowly pushed down the straps on her bra. She jumped slightly as his lips descended to her skin. She felt her bra loosen. "You should get dressed Roy."

"Can I have you first?" His lips now in position at the side of her neck.

"What?" she said as she caught off guard once again.

He turned her around and picked her up, pushing her against the wall. "I want you so bad." Her legs wrapped around his waist to help take the pressure placed on his arms by holding her. "Do we have time?" he asked as he bucked his hips into hers. His teeth were now biting the top of her right breast, leaving little red marks. "Please tell me we do," he said, his voicing taking on the most desperate tone she'd ever heard come from anyone.

"Yes, we have time," she whispered.

(-)

The sun's rays were still weak and the air chilled as they waited for soldiers to carry the coffin up the hill toward Maes' final resting place. The aroma of oncoming rain dominated the air, making the surroundings smell fresh when they usually smelled of burnt asphalt - or pine in the case of the graveyard.

Roy looked to his right and saw the dark coffin carried toward the hole in the ground. The coffin was draped with the hideous green flag of the country and atop it perched a hat that he hadn't seen Maes wear since they graduated academy. He vaguely wondered if they were burying him with the sabers that Maes never liked as well. He looked down at the hole then up at the gravestone at its head. That damned stone bore words that punched him in the gut: Brigadier General Maes Hughes. Hughes wouldn't have wanted that rank. He wouldn't have wanted this funeral with so much military pomp. Then again, Maes never got exactly what he wanted other than his wife and child. No, he was taken away from this world. Murdered by a coward.

Roy felt a bit at ease over the fact he could feel Riza's presence behind him. She was forever faithful in pushing him to the top. Just like Maes had been.

As the men slowly lowered the coffin into the pit of earth, he refused to let tears come from his eyes. Already finding the task extremely difficult, it was made even worse by the distressed cries of Maes' pride and joy.

"Mama," Elecia said. "Why do they have to bury my papa?"

The men began shoveling dirt upon the coffin, each thump and clatter of the rocks hitting against the casket making Roy cringe in addition to her question.

"Why are you guys burying my papa? I don't understand."

Gracia looked down at her daughter who was tugging on her hand desperately, trying to get to her dad. "Elecia," Gracia said, gripping her handkerchief in her hand tightly.

"No! Mama! Mama! If they bury papa he won't be able to go to work anymore! They can't bury him!"

Gracia kneeled on the damp grass and pulled her daughter into her arms as she reached out in the direction of the grave, stretching her arms as far as she could. "Papa, come out! Papa! You said you had lots of work to do! You have to dig out!"

Upon hearing those words, Armstrong began crying. He covered his eyes with his hands, the tears still making their escape and rushing down his cheeks. Roy glanced at the fuehrer; his hands were gripping the hilt of the sword and shaking. Roy lowered his hat over his eyes and watched as the men laid one last bit of dirt upon the grave before patting it down and resting at 12 by 12 inch stone slab in front of the tombstone.

"Please don't bury him!" Elecia pleaded. "Don't' bury my daddy! Papa!"

Soon, the people started leaving the graveyard. People gave Gracia their condolences and she accepted them gracefully. Roy was truly amazed at her strength during this time. He looked down at his friend's daughter. Elecia was standing quietly at her mom's side, tears still falling down her little round cheeks. Riza approached them and Roy tensed.

"Thank you for coming," Gracia said.

The three adults were stunned when Elecia ran to Riza and looked up at her. "You won't fib to me! Papa is coming back isn't he?"

Roy started to panic. Riza wasn't used to being around many kids and she tended to be blunt.

"Elecia!" Gracia said.

Riza bent down and picked the little girl up in her arms. "He'll never be gone," she said. "You won't seen him again in life but he'll always be with you right here." She touched the spot where Elecia's heart was.

"But I'll miss papa."

"Just . . . just close your eyes and picture him. He'll be watching over you."

Roy stood there, amazed at what Riza told her. He shook off his shock and turned back to study the tombstone, reading it for what seemed like the millionth time."

Gracia took Elecia from Riza. "Thank you."

Riza nodded. "I'll walk you to your car," she said.

"Are you sure you want to leave him alone?" Gracia whispered, motioning to Roy with her head.

"He needs time," Riza said.

Roy laughed lowly and bitterly. "Promoted two ranks higher in death. Brigadier General Hughes. Idiot. Fool. You said you were going to stay behind me and push me to the top. How in the hell do you expect to do that when you are under me, yet above me?"

"Colonel," he heard Riza say. He turned slightly and saw her approaching him, a coat slung over her arm. "The wind is picking up and the air is getting chilly. Maybe you should think abut heading back."

"Yeah, I will in a minute. Did you make sure Gracia and Elecia made it to the car?"

"Yes."

He took the coat and slipped it over his shoulders before looking back at the grave. "We alchemists are disgusting, foolish creatures Lieutenant," he said. "Right now, I'm trying to rack my brain for the exact details of how to do a human transmutation."

Riza's arm was against his and he felt her tense. "I'm not going to do it. You don't have to worry. But now I can better understand why those two kids wanted to bring their mother back."

Riza nodded. "You'll be okay though."

"Yes, yes I'll be fine." Roy placed his hat on his head and pulled it down over his eyes. "It . . . It looks like its starting to rain though. I hate rain."

"But it's not raining," she said, looking around.

Roy took a step closer to the grave and Riza withheld a gasp at seeing tears stream down his cheeks. "Yes, it is. It's pouring."

"Damn rain," she said.

They stood there for a few minutes in silence. She looked around and when she saw no one, she stepped forward and took his hand. He coughed and pulled it away. He turned his back to her. "Let's get back." He walked away, leaving Riza standing alone and cold in more ways than one.

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**AN: Several dozen people keep asking me if I'm going to continue with this fiction and my other royai fics after the manga ends. Yes, I will. I still write for Sailor Moon and that anime ended around 1997. Same thing for a lot of other animes and shows. So yes, I plan to finish all my Royai and I have a few new ones already finished that need betaed. I'm not sure if people will still read but they'll be there if people want them. XD Anyway, needed to get that out. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please review if you have the time. **


	68. Fault

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 68: Fault?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction other than writing practice and enjoyment. **

**AN: Happy Belated Birthday to Marlie Ross and Happy Birthday to Drex! **

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**Fault?**

Riza deliberately kept a few paces behind her husband, unsure if she'd be welcomed walking by his side. She was used to a much faster pace than he was walking and her legs tensed. The dull ache spread from her calves all the way up to her thighs in steady undulates and finally stilled in a constant nuisance. One of the men at the funeral offered them a ride and she now wished that he had accepted. Roy said he wanted to walk to "clear his head".

"You should have taken the ride from that guy if you are going to walk like you're injured," Roy said. His voice was gruff but held no anger within it.

"Yes, Sir," she said, "I suppose that I should have." She bit her tongue to keep from saying that the company of the other soldier would have been better. Lately it was as if her cruel and less understanding sides were trying to punch through her.

Roy stopped and she paused. He turned around, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her to his right side, away from the curb. "Don't walk like a second class woman. You aren't beneath me," he snapped and began walking again, keeping hold of her wrist.

Riza felt a small tinge of happiness go through her for a moment before coming back to the reality of the situation. "Sir, this type of conduct isn't proper for us out in public. Please let go of my wrist."

Roy intertwined their fingers together and pulled her hand close to him so it was concealed between their sides. "It's against the rules everywhere and honestly, at the moment Lieutenant, I don't give a shit."

She looked down at her feet and nodded, "Yes, Sir." She felt incredibly odd— like a little girl who was scolded by a parent.

"I need you to go get Armstrong for me," Roy said. "He should be at his office by now. Tell him to meet me at the place Hughes . . . meet me at the crime scene." They turned up the road toward headquarters, the large grey building looming in the distance like a dreaded storm.

"Yes Sir." She pulled her hand away from his and moved a few inches away from him. She noticed that he glanced at her on occasion as they walked but she wasn't in the mood to ask him about it. For now she would do her duty like a good little subordinate.

When they arrived at the top of the steps in front of the building, Roy stopped and turned to her. "Do you want to say something to me?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Just the way you are acting," he said.

She wanted to choke him. She wasn't the one acting in an unusual manner. "I'm not acting any differently. I have nothing to say."

Roy imparted her with a look that said he didn't believe her but she opted not to show that she noticed. She didn't want to talk to him because she couldn't guarantee she would remain subordinate and respectful.

"Lieutenant, you—"

She saluted him. "I'll be going now, Sir." Turning on her heels, she made her way down the right hand path that led to the section where Major Armstrong's office was located. Roy started to go into the main building but a voice made him stop.

"Hey Hawkeye!"

Roy looked in the direction of the voice and saw that she'd stopped and four men were approaching her. He'd met them once, they were old academy friends of hers, the brown haired one being the only person Riza kissed other than him. Patrick . . . yes Ramsey was his name. He didn't like that man at all.

"Hello," she said.

"Oh, pardon us," one of them said. They all saluted her. "First Lieutenant Hawkeye!"

For the first time that day, she let a pleasant smile bloom upon her face. "At ease, no saluting between lieutenants here. Remember that gentlemen. And I use that term loosely of course."

Roy's eyes fell on a brown-haired man who walked closer to her. "Permission to act freely ?"

"Yes."

Roy had to resist the urge to go over and strangled the man when he pulled Riza into a tight hug. He nearly fell over when she hugged him back. Then he had to fight down the desire to commit mass murder when the other three men hugged her. His stomach felt as if someone were twisting it and tying it in knots. Riza shouldn't be hugging any other men no matter if they were old friends.

"I'm sorry to cut our meeting short but I have to go find Major Armstrong," Riza said.

"We were just going to his office. We'll come with you," one of them said, "we can catch up."

Riza smiled and walked away with them, leaving Roy to fight the desire to grab her, sling her over his shoulder, and go himself. Instead, he turned and made his way to the records office, trying to get his wife and his jealousy off his mind.

**(-)**

Roy listened raptly as he followed Sergeant Focker, one of Hughes' subordinates, down the hallway toward the records room. "He just ran off towards the record's room as if he suddenly thought of something. It was like he thought the world was going to end if he didn't get there soon." Focker walked up to the barricades in front of the door and scooted them aside before opening the door. "That was the last time I saw Lieutenant Colonel Hughes alive."

Roy took a step into the room and he suddenly felt as if he walked into the past. It was dark, with the slightest metallic scent of blood filling the air. Papers strewed across the floor; a shelf laid on its side with a dark stain upon a few of the tomes nestled therein. Shards of glass spread out across the floor, twinkling against the small flecks of light that streamed against them. It reminded him of the room he walked into when he was looking for the Elrics, the aura besieging it screeching of lingering death and the unnatural. He took another step, his shadow casting a menacing shade upon the floor, his dark outline looking like a terrifying monster entering. He pushed down the fear that Maes must have felt that night. He had to keep it together.

Roy swallowed the buildup of saliva that pooled in his mouth. "By the looks of it, he must have gotten into a fight with someone in here." He left out the chilling thoughts that wanted to form into words and explode off his lips.

"I thought the same as you," he said.

Roy turned and left the room, his legs not moving fast enough for his liking. Focker closed the door and pointed down the hallway.

"There was a steady stream of blood leading from the door to out here. It leads in the direction of the phones. There's only one trail and the blood matches Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. There is a different type present on the wall in the room, but so far I haven't heard anything more about that."

"Towards the phones you say?" Hearing that suddenly made his insides quake. Like his subconscious was trying to make a suspicion known physically but wasn't ready to reveal what it was completely. The feeling was smothering. "Let's go there."

When Roy and Focker arrived at the desk where people checked in before making a call, they saw the girl that worked there sitting in her chair, sobbing into a pink handkerchief. She looked up at them when they walked closer.

"May I ask you some questions?" Roy used the most sympathetic tone he could summon. He didn't have to use that tone with Riza during times like this- and he was thankful for that-but it the lack of using such a way of speaking meant he was sorely deprived of knowing how.

"Yes sir," she said. She stood and walked around the desk so that she was standing in front of Roy.

"Can you tell us what happened the last time you saw the Lieutenant Colonel alive?"

She walked over to the second phone from the desk and pointed at it. Roy's gaze fell to the handle, a bloody handprint still staining the dark wood even though it'd been washed. "That's the phone he was using. The Lieutenant Colonel came past the desk, bleeding badly from his shoulder. He was hissing out his words and stumbling a bit, likely from all the blood loss. I offered to get him help but he was so focused on making a phone call. "

"He gave no explanation on why he was injured?"

"Nothing," she said, "he just seemed to have something very important and urgent on his mind." Tears began welling up in her eyes once again and she covered them with her handkerchief. "He left after that without making a call."

Focker patted the young woman on the back and looked up at Roy. "May I speak off the record sir?"

"Yes," he said, "as long as my coming here will be kept quiet."

"It will, Sir. Right?" Focker asked the young woman. She nodded. "Of course."

"Then speak," he said.

"Please catch this bastard. I doubt investigations will do jack shit," he said, his tone coming out hostile and frustrated.

"Will do."

"And if you need anything, you have my support," Focker said.

"Me too," said the girl.

Roy smiled slenderly, "Thank you."

**(-)**

Riza was actually thrilled to be walking with the men that she took sniper training with at academy. It'd been so long since she'd seen them and to see smiling faces was a welcomed change from the morbid ambiance of the day. With them, she didn't have to pretend to understand or force more sympathy than she had the ability to invoke. Ramsey, Jason, Patrick, and Daniel were never ones to have a frown on their features so their good humor was contagious.

"So, are you coming back to work at Central?" Ramsey asked.

"No," she said, "we are just here for the funeral."

"Ah, Colonel Hughes. I heard about his murder," Daniel said.

"He's a general now. He was posthumously promoted."

"Lot of good that does him," Patrick said.

Riza nodded.

"You are working under Mustang now right? The two of you have built up quite a reputation you know," Ramsey said.

"Have we?"

"Yeah, supposedly the most effective pairing in the military. Mainly your reputation about not letting him slack off."

"Things are exaggerated," she said.

"I doubt that in this case," Ramsey said.

Riza chuckled. "Perhaps," she said as they arrived at Armstrong's office. They went inside and Armstrong looked up from his desk crowded with piles upon piles of forms.

"Looks like he needs you as an assistant too," Ramsey muttered, earning an elbow in the gut from Riza.

"What can I do for you all?" Armstrong asked.

"We came to get our papers sir," Ramsey said.

"Ah, I sent them down to the range for transfer. They should have them."

"Man, all this way for nothing," Daniel mumbled.

"Thank you, Sir," Ramsey said, and then the four men saluted him. They turned to Riza and did the same. "We hope to see you again soon Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"Yes, it would be nice. Goodbye."

"Patrick leaned in. "If you need us for anything, you know how to find us right?"

Riza's eyes widened and she nodded. "I may call you on that someday," she whispered.

"Look forward to it," he said before leaving with the others.

The four men filed out and she turned to Armstrong.

"You know them?" he asked.

"Yes sir," she said, "they were in my class at academy."

"They are good men."

"Yes, they are."

"I'm betting you are here because he wants to see me?" Armstrong then asked.

"Yes. At the crime scene."

**(-)**

Roy looked ahead of him as he walked to the phone booth where Maes was murdered. The sun was setting in the sky, its orange fire growing duller as it descended over the mountain and the shadows losing their weight and muscle as they formed into different beings.

He stepped up to the booth and gave the man guarding it a quick salute before undoing the barricade and opening the door to the booth. The hinges on the door screamed their pain so loudly he foolishly wondered if they were voicing what Hughes could not.

He rested his hand upon the phone, and stared at the blood around the booth. Once again the reminisce of rapidly fading life impossible to scrub from its habitation in the wood and concrete. He picked up the receiver and shook his head. He didn't understand why Hughes didn't call from the court martial office and went out of his way to use this outside line. Obviously, he must have had a reason for not trusting the phones at headquarters.

"Colonel," he heard Riza say. He turned and saw her walking towards him, noting in the back of his mind how incredibly beautiful she looked in the sunset glow. Armstrong was following behind her. "I've brought Major Armstrong," she said, stating the obvious.

Roy closed the door to the booth and walked towards them. "Good, let's go somewhere private to talk."

The three officers walked a moderate distance away from the phone booth and into an alley behind a cluster of trees.

"Tell me what you know," Roy said, meeting the Major's blue gaze with his doleful and austere darker one.

"The operator said Hughes requested to speak with you at Eastern Headquarters. When she told him to wait, he said 'the military is in danger.' Then he just hung up the phone and dialed another number. We haven't gotten the trace back yet, though we do have a good idea of the identities of the individuals that murdered the Lieutenant Colonel."

"Then why don't you arrest them."

Armstrong closed his eyes and looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry Sir. We have an idea but we don't know who or where they are."

His statement caught Roy and Riza both by surprise. "What do you mean by that?" Roy said, turning to face him fully. "Explain yourself."

"I cannot."

"You are disobeying a direct order from a superior officer. A colonel is ordering you to speak!" Roy snapped. Riza resisted the urge to place a hand on his shoulder and tell him to calm down.

Armstrong shot a gaze into him, his piercing blue shattering the black. "I cannot," he used a final punctuating tone. Roy immediately recognized the message that the Major was trying to transmit.

Roy nodded. "I understand and I am sorry for calling you our here. You can go now."

"Yes Sir," he said. Armstrong saluted then turned to leave. He stopped. "There's something I forgot to tell you. The Elric brothers were here for a stay just a few days ago."

Roy's hearing perked. "The Elric Brothers?"

"Yes."

"Did they find what they were looking for?" Roy asked, a very small grin appearing on his lips at Armstrong's hints.

"No, because what they are looking for is a legend right?"

"Right, I guess that is true. Thank you."

Roy and Riza watched as he walked away, not speaking until he was out of view.

"I guess we weren't able to get anything significant out of him," Riza said then sighed.

Roy leaned against the brick wall behind him and folded his arms across his chest. He looked down and his grin widened. Riza felt a weight leave her at seeing his quirk of the lips. "On the contrary, he was very kind to us."

"What do you mean?"

"The identity of the individuals. That's plural. Means there was more than one murderer. Maybe a group of individuals working for a common goal or organization. Then there's the fact he wouldn't speak when even ordered by a colonel."

"That would mean that someone of higher rank than you ordered him to stay silent," she said.

"Exactly and it would also be safe to assume that military command is somehow involved in the situation. And he mentioned the Elric Brother's and what they were looking for. In other words, the Philosopher's Stone."

"I see. An organization that's involved with the military command, the stone and Hughes. How are they connected?"

Roy rubbed his head, his hair ruffling up in the common style he was used to everyday. "I don't' have an idea but, "his eyes turned menacing, "I'm not just going to let this die. I will find out who killed him."

Riza looked away, not liking the horrible look he carried in his eyes. She nodded. "Yes, Sir."

"Soon I'll be transferred to Central."

"Yes, congratulations."

"This will be the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. I can get to the bottom of what is going on in military command and find out who killed Hughes. Nothing and no one is going to get in my way in doing that."

"It's not like you to mix your personal feelings with business," she said.

Roy glanced at her. "Oh? And what do you call our relationship?" he asked. "It's not exactly a separation. In fact, it's the worst kind of mix when it comes to our work. Creates a lot of trouble."

Riza felt her body jerk slightly, as if an invisible projectile had hit her. She pushed back the pain. It didn't matter. She merely nodded.

"In this case," Roy continued, "there's no difference between personal and business. Getting the presidency and avenging Hughes are both things I do of my own will. I'm going to go after military command." Roy stood straight, pushing away from the wall, and turned to her. "Are you going to come with me?"

Riza stared into his eyes and hesitated. She screamed at herself to answer him. For the first time ever, she wasn't sure she wanted to do so. Her heart panicked. Of course she was going to follow him. Of course she was! "I. . . Um. . . Sir, stop asking stupid questions that you already know the answer to."

She noticed Roy look at her oddly and brushed it off. "We should get back. We have to leave for home tonight." She turned around.

"Yes . . ." he said, "your right."

She turned to look at him and mustered up a smile. "You have a lot of paperwork to do," she said, turned back around and began walking.

"Yeah."

Riza was about to board the train when someone shouted her name. Roy had already boarded and was waiting in the car for her. She turned when she saw Denny Broch running toward her. He arrived out of breath. "Major Armstrong asked me to give this to you before you left. I'm glad I caught you."

"To me or to Mustang?"

"He specifically said you should see it first. Just in case. He never mentioned what that case was and that you should tell the colonel."

"Okay, thank you."

"All aboard."

"I have to be going. Thank you and thank the major for me will you?"

"Yes Ma'am."

She got on the train just as it began pulling out of the station. Instead of going inside the car, she opened the letter the Major sent her. "Here's the number," she read aloud. She let her eyes fall onto the number and time of the call and her knees gave way. She fell back against the train car and slit to sit on the floor. No no no, this couldn't be right . . . this was Roy's home phone . . . and it was the call that they left unanswered.

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**AN: I was going back and forth on whether to put Riza's friends from academy in this for a bit, but finally decided to do so to show that she brings Roy support as well via people she knows. They'll play a big part in later chapters as well. Thank you for taking the time to read and please drop a review if you have the time. **


	69. Burning Out

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 69: Burning Out**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. **

**AN: I have two great proofreaders but for the next few chapters I feel that I should do it myself. Hope you enjoy it!  
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**Burning Out**

Roy tapped his fingers impatiently upon the wooden seat beside him as he waited for Hawkeye to come in the car and sit down. He was feeling very uneasy and needed Riza in view. He saw her board the train but she had yet to make her way inside. Surely, she wouldn't have gotten back off without telling him so.

He stood and walked down the tiny aisle to the door. Opening it, he stepped out onto the platform and looked around, anger coursed through him at the thought of her missing the train. How could she be so irresponsible at a time like this? He turned back to the door. Well then, she could just stay in Central.

Roy's intent to go back inside curtailed when something sitting beside the door caught his sight and made him leap back in defense. He relaxed immediately when he saw the something was Riza. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and her head resting on the arms she draped across them. She was staring off in the distance, paying no mind to his presence.

"Riza?" He frowned when he received no recognition from her. He tried again, "Riza?" Still nothing. "Riza?"

"What!" she snapped, lines of anger forming between her furrowed brows and her eyes narrowing.

Roy pushed down the urge to yell back and kneeled in front of her. "Are you okay?"

"Do you care?"

Roy grinded his teeth once, a slow steady application of pressure upon the white dentitions, before replying. "If I didn't then why would I ask," he said, his voice a bit gruffer than he wanted it to be.

"No, I'm not okay."

He was surprised, he expected her to lie and say she was fine. She always did that. "You sick again?"

"No."

"Are you su—"

"Damn it Roy," she said, slamming her hands down on the metal floor, "leave me alone! Just go back inside, sit down, and shut up!" Her voice cracked as she yelled at him.

"What in the hell gives you the right to tell me I can't be out here with my wife," he snapped. He reached out to touch her but she smacked his hand away, "Don't touch me."

"I have a right to! You are my wife after all."

"Yes, you've already called me that," she snarled, she didn't know why she was so angry with him. If anything, he was going to be furious with her.

"Look at me!"

She raised her head and looked towards him, "Happy now?"

"No, I'm not."

"Too bad. Forgive me won't you?"

"Let's go inside, you clearly aren't feeling well."

"No."

"Don't make me order it Lieutenant."

"Well excuse me for my insubordination when I tell you to mind your own business. . . Sir." She looked away from him.

"That's enough! What in the hell is wrong with you. You are acting like a rebellious teenager. I just want you to go inside where it's warm because I'm concerned."

She sighed and got to her feet but made no move to go inside the car. "You weren't concerned when you were being so cold to me the past few days were you?" she questioned, her voice turning even more sulfurous. "When you were fucking me just to forget!"

Roy couldn't believe that she would bring that up. "It's not like you protested. If you did, I would have stopped. You could have said no but you didn't! Not once."

Riza stared into his eyes and nodded, "Yes, you are right. I didn't." Her tone was defeated and her tiredness of arguing showed through on her face as well. Roy felt a bit of guilt but also a bit of pride that he'd "won" their argument. "Let's go inside."

"No," she said, "there's something you need to know first."

"Tell me inside."

"No."

"Is that your favorite word today or something?" He moved to lean against the wall to the car and folded his arms. "What do I need to know first?"

"You won't want me to come inside once I tell you."

"Just get to it!"

She sighed and turned around to look out at the landscape they were leaving behind. "That call on our anniversary. The one we didn't answer." She tried to form her thoughts before continuing, hoping Roy would come to the conclusion himself.

"What abou…" Roy trailed off as soon as the implication of that sentence hit him. He opened his mouth to respond but nothing would form in his throat and enunciate.

"It was Maes."

"No."

"Now who's using that word," Riza muttered under her breath so he couldn't' hear her. He didn't need to fight with her again. They'd been doing too much arguing as it was. She reached in her jacket pocket and removed the paper Armstrong sent her. She handed it to him, not turning to look at his face. When she felt him take it, she released her grasp. A moment later, the door to the car opened and slammed shut.

She turned toward the door and her legs became so heavy she had to sit down once again. She rested her back against the iron rails, mistily wishing they would break and she'd go toppling backward. It was stupid, she knew it, but that didn't mean she could keep her mind from cogitating it. If only she insisted he answer the call. If they had Hughes might be . . . no, he wouldn't have survived. They would have just heard the shot, notify the police, and they'd only to find a corpse. According to the report she saw, he was shot in the left side of the chest, which, depending on the area, would cause him to drown on his own blood. If it was in the left side of the heart, well, death was still the only result.

Of course, Roy would partially blame himself and go further away from the man that she loved. He'd close himself off, push her away, or maybe even blame her. She blamed herself so she could understand if he did as well.

She pressed the bottom portion of her palms against her eyes when she felt them begin to water and leaned her head back against the bars. "Get it together Riza. Push it back. Your feelings don't matter. They never did, so just get used to it," she whispered, letting the wind carry the words away as it whipped by her.

She took a shuddering breath then coughed a few times before pulling her coat tighter around her. She stood, her legs still feeling like they were filled with rocks and her stomach queasy with unease. She didn't want to go into the car and face him but the chill in the air was becoming intolerable.

After standing there for a few more minutes, she entered the car. Roy was sitting on the other opposite side of the railcar, the letter she gave him out of sight and his focus directed out the window. There was no one sitting around him and she had a feeling he preferred it that way.

A man sitting beside the door moved his bag off the seat across from him. "Would you like to sit down?" His accent was thick and clearly southern, and friendly in tone. It sent a wave of comfort through her body.

"Yes, thank you very much," she said.

She sat down in front of him and he extended his hand. "Vince Garnett," he said with an even wider smile.

"Riza Hawkeye," she said, his smile infectious. It almost seemed wrong for her to wear an expression of joy. She shook his hand and pulled away.

"Great name," he said.

She laughed lightly, never having had anyone compliment her name before, "Thank you."

She continued the conversation with the man until the next stop, easily falling into a discussion about firearms with what she discovered to be a former soldier. Luckily, he'd resigned from the military before Ishbal so he hadn't heard of her. The talk with him was a nice reprieve from what was going on in her life.

She looked across the car at Roy who was still focusing his gaze out the window. As soon as the last person left the car, leaving her and Roy alone, the air felt ten times thicker than before. She scooted closer to the window and decided that she'd stay put and leave him to his thoughts.

(-)

Riza woke up when the train jolted to its stop at Eastern station. Roy was standing above her, his hand positioned above her shoulder ready to wake her. He straightened his posture and shoved his hands in his pockets. "We're home, let's go."

Riza followed him out of the car and off the train. They walked down to get their suitcases, Roy grabbing hers before she could take hold of its metal handle. "I can carry my own," she said.

"Yeah," Roy said but made no move to hand her case over as they walked down the street.

She was hoping when they left the train that the unease between them would lift somewhat. Much to her disappointment, the heavy burden of guilt continued traveling upon them. It was foolish of her to think that merely disembarking a train would alleviate the feeling. She knew Roy felt it just as much as she did. They'd been together a long time and could read each other's eyes, gestures, and overall messages they conveyed in the silence of their companionship.

They walked into their building and over to the elevator. Not surprisingly, the creaky old lift was out of order. Riza grabbed her case from him before Roy could make any move to protest.

"You already carried it all this way. It's not good for you to have to carry it up those stairs with your arm still sore."

"It's not good for you to even climb those stairs with the way you feel."

"I'm doing better."

"You sure?"

"Yes. I wouldn't have said it if-"

"You weren't. I get it."

They arrived at their apartments and Riza unlocked hers. She turned to Roy, who was digging in his pocket for his keys. She walked over and used another key to open his apartment, the brown door's hinges protesting as it moved. "There's no alcohol in your apartment anymore so you won't be able to have a drink of anything except coffee or water. I had Havoc and Rebecca get rid of it."

"I figured you'd do something like that. Can I at least be alone or do you feel the need to chaperone me? I do have cough medicine in the cabinet." He picked up his suitcase roughly.

"No you don't," she replied.

A bitter grin appeared on his face. "You think of everything don't you?"

"I try, Sir."

"Perfect lieutenant as always aren't you," he said, entering his apartment. She walked over, picked up her bag, and entered her own. "Riza?" he called before she got a chance to shut her door.

"Yes?"

"Are you coming over tonight?"

"Do you actually want me there? I thought you said you wanted to be alone."

"I want you here."

"To fuck right?"

Roy burned his gaze into hers, the lines of his face smoothed, and his jaw hardened. "That's up to you," he said after a short pause, "I'm not much good for doing anything else right now." He didn't wait for her to respond, choosing instead to go inside and shut the door behind him.

She stared at his door for a moment before shutting her own. She moved to lean against it and sighed. "No, you probably aren't," she whispered in response to his last comment.

(-)

"So, Colonel Mustang seems to be doing better," Rebecca said as they sat down at a corner table in the mess hall.

"Does he really?" Riza picked up her spoon and began eating, her body posture indicating that she no longer wanted to talk. She knew Rebecca would pick up the hint but it was likely she'd ignore it.

Rebecca leaned in toward her friend, "Are you and Mustang having a fight."

Riza gripped her spoon tighter. She hadn't talked to Roy for two weeks about anything other than work. They left the office concurrently, arrived at their apartments at the same time, but their lives were separate, as if they were merely work colleagues instead of spouses. "I don't know if I'd call it a fight or not," Riza said, "it's more like a separation."

"What!"

"Shush!" Riza said. "Ever since Maes died it's been like this. He's just gotten colder and more distant. I understand he's going through mourning but. . ." She sighed. "I don't know."

"You know, people are talking about the difference around the two of you. It's like a cloud that brings everyone down. Outwardly there seems to be no difference but it's just the aura I guess."

"Well forgive us for not being sunshine and lollipops for everyone," she snapped and instantly regretted it after she spoke. "I'm sorry Becca."

"You need to talk more about this?"

"I'll be fine."

"Riza," she said, frustrated that her friend was trying to keep her problems to herself.

"Do you have the day off tomorrow?" Riza asked.

"Huh? Yeah, why?"

"I want to go out and go shopping," Riza said.

Rebecca nearly fell over upon hearing Riza's words, "Shopping?"

"Yes, that's what I said."

"But you hardly ever shop. You tend to be very um . . . economical."

"I haven't bought anything in a while. I need something to get me out of the apartment building and I don't feel like spending the day alone."

"Then shopping it is!"

Riza smiled softly and put down her spoon, her food not even half finished. "I'm done. I'm going to go back to the office to get some more paperwork finished."

"That's all you are going to eat? Riza you need more than a few bites for lunch."

"I'm not that hungry."

"We are going to have a long talk tomorrow. Meet you at the center fountain at noon?"

Riza nodded and stood. "Sounds good," she said, picked up her tray, and began to walk away.

"Riza," Rebecca called. Riza turned around. "At least take an apple with you to eat please."

"I will," she said.

Riza grabbed the apple from the tray as she dumped the rest of her food and sat the platter in the proper place.

(-)

Roy took a huge bite of his sandwich as he worked on the papers at his desk. He tried to ignore the blue gaze that glanced at him on occasion but finally it got too much and he glared at the person looking at him. "What is it? You've been staring at me for the past twenty minutes!" Roy snapped at Havoc.

"Um… the men they've noticed some changes in the office," Havoc said, delicately starting a safe segue into the conversation that he wanted to have.

Roy looked back down at his work. "Is that so? Nothing has changed."

"You are doing paperwork without any trouble."

"That's because it's my job."

"Things are tenser too. Especially during the past few weeks."

"Between me and the Lieutenant correct?"

"Yes, everyone is noticing the tension. It's like a thick cloud descending over every area you two go. There's quite a bit of talk going on."

"Everyone needs to mind their own damn business," Roy snapped.

"Then you two need to make up. Otherwise, eventually people won't be able to mind their business. The higher-ups could even catch wind of it and—"

Roy slammed his pen down and glared at Havoc, this time his look carrying even more acidity upon it. "That's enough! Don't over step your boundaries!"

Havoc nodded and stood. He saluted. "Excuse me then sir. I'm going to lunch now."

Roy relaxed his form and nodded. "Go ahead," he said and watched as Havoc moved to the door. It opened just as he reached for the knob and Riza entered.

"Going to lunch now?" Riza asked.

"Yeah, the company here leaves a lot to be desired," Havoc whispered, knowing she'd agree.

"Yes, I know what you mean," she said. She shut the door behind her after Havoc left and walked past Roy's desk.

"You're back from lunch already?" he asked, trying to keep his tone as cordial as possible. Lately, seeing her, being in the same proximity as her, tended to bring out his anger.

"I wasn't that hungry." She stopped walking and sat the apple on his desk, "Have some fruit."

"You should eat," he said as he watched her walk over to her desk and sit down.

Riza sighed and looked up at him. "I'm just not hungry today. I'll have a dinner when I get home. I want to finish this work before I go practice at the range."

"You can't be getting rundown on the job. I can't afford to have you out of commission again."

Riza chuckled and opened her desk drawer to get a pen. He was the one that needed to worry about being out of commission when he made such rash, stupid decisions all the time.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing Sir," she said.

"If you have something to say to me I suggest you say it."

Riza jerked her head up and a stern lilt laced through her voice. "I have a lot to say Sir but it wouldn't be proper in a work environment as it would be considered insubordination."

"Then I suggest we talk after work."

"Yes Sir."

He stood and shrugged on his jacket. "I have a meeting with General Grumman." Riza hid another smile. When he said meeting she knew it always translated to chess match and Roy getting his ass handed to him.

"Yes Sir."

(-)

Roy watched Grumman as he studied the chessboard, contemplating his next move. He had the same back and forth gaze and study method that Riza often used when playing. They were a lot alike in that –their biggest difference being that the general was more prone to cheat than his granddaughter was.

"You're transfer orders have arrived here. You will be working in Central next week. You'll be in charge of a section of state alchemists. It's a good position."

"Yes Sir. I'm happy to accept it."

"It's not going to be the same here without you and your team. You actually made things interesting around here."

"I'm not nearly as interesting as the stories about you General."

The old man laughed heartedly and lifted his hand to his chin. "Ah yes, I was quite a hothead back then." He stared pointedly at Roy. "That's not always a good thing you know."

Roy shifted in his seat and moved a chess piece. Surely, the General didn't see the tension between him and Riza. Roy frowned inwardly as he watched the General counter his move. The old man was very observant and if everyone else sensed the tension, then it was likely Grumman did.

"Hey! Darn, I should have moved over there," Grumman said, pointing to another spot.

Roy chuckled. "No taking back moves General."

Grumman sighed and moved a pawn forward. "In any case, with you around I've been able to relax. Thanks to all of your hard work that is."

Roy captured Grumman's pawn he moved and nodded. "I've been able to grow as an officer thanks to the variety of tasks you've given me. I'm grateful."

"Let's see," the General said under his breath as he once again studied the board. A light sheen of sweat developed on his forehead, glistening under the bright lights above. "General Hakuro will be coming here from New Optain to take your place." He wrinkled his nose. "I wish they'd assign someone else. He's so uptight all the time."

Roy lifted the knight off the board, "this is it." He sat it down in the proper spot. "And that's a checkmate."

Grumman looked closer at the board and released a loud laugh. "I lost!"

"I was finally able to beat you Sir," Roy said.

Grumman removed a black book from his inner jacket pocket and picked up a pen. "Colonel Mustang, you've won one game and lost ninety-seven with fifteen stalemates. Consider this win a parting gift?"

"I'll gladly accept it," Roy said as he put the chess pieces back into their case. The two men stood and made their way to the door. The General handed him the chessboard and pieces. "But what would make this old man extremely happy would be if you took my granddaughter as your future first lady."

Roy felt his heart jolt and his body try to stiffen. He forced himself to relax and smiled at Grumman. "You're jumping the gun General."

"I don't think so. Being married to my granddaughter could be as easy as her resigning and you getting a marriage license. I can help out with both."

"Sir, if you really want to help me out, there are some subordinates that I would like to take to Central with me."

Grumman nodded. "You always changed the subject Colonel. Very well, take whoever you'd like."

"Thank you, Sir. I owe you one."

(-)

Riza released a string of curses under her breath as she saw that her shots were off once again. As much as she tried to focus on her shooting, her mind just refused to cooperate. She wanted to get her thoughts off what was going on and usually practicing with her favorite rifle did just that. No matter how much she tried to shake the guilt, over Maes' death and over being so angry with Roy, it just wouldn't go away. She aimed again and fired, once again her shot going off center.

"How's it going little Riza?"

Riza turned her head to look at the Lieutenant in charge of taking care of the range. If it were anyone other than him, she might be offended by being called Little Riza. Jacob was one of those people that everyone liked instantly when they met him. She lifted her gun and fired again, cursing when the shot still didn't go where she needed it. Jacob lifted his binoculars and stared out where she fired. "Good shooting as usual. No, better than good."

"I still have a long way to go," Riza said, sorely disappointed in her shots thus far.

"Oh, by the way. The Colonel Mustang just called for you. He's being transferred to Central."

Riza fired another shot at the mention of her husband's name, the bullet hitting dead center at the head of the target.

Riza smiled slimly as she moved to stand beside Havoc at the elevator. "Do you know what the chief wants?" Havoc asked.

"He's being transferred," Riza said as the elevator doors opened. The two officers boarded the lift and the doors shut with a thump.

"Are you and the Colonel are having troubles?"

"Do you really have to ask that?"

"I tried to talk to him about it and I thought he was going to strangle me."

"He's been like that since Maes died. Don't worry. If he wants to strangle anyone, it would be me."

"What? Why you? You were there for him more than anyone during this time."

The elevator stopped and a bell rang, indicating the doors were about to open. She didn't look at Havoc as she spoke her next sentence, "I think that's the problem."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"It's nothing. Forget I said anything," she said and quickly left the elevator as soon as the door opened.

Havoc looked at her worriedly before following her inside the office. Fuery, Falman, and Breda were already present and standing in front of Roy's desk. Roy glanced at her. "You're late."

"We were further away from the office," Havoc said.

"We're sorry, Sir," Riza said, surprising Havoc that she didn't say anything further. He never mentioned that they had to be there within a certain time frame.

When they lined up beside the other three men, Roy began, "I've arranged for the five of you are being transferred to Central with me. I won't hear any objections. Is that understood?"

Riza wanted to roll her eyes at his bluntness but kept herself from doing it. They all snapped into a perfect, in unison salute. "Yes Sir!"

(-)

Riza never thought she'd be uncomfortable being alone an apartment with her husband but as they sat on the couch, eating leftover pizza and drinking milk, she did. They ate quietly, the only sound being the fire licking and devouring the wood in the hearth. After a few more minutes of silent tension, Roy put his glass of milk down on the table beside him and looked at her. Riza avoided his gaze, keeping it focused on the slice of pizza on her lap that she didn't want. She picked off the toppings and ate them, leaving the sauce blanketed crust on the dish.

"Is that all you are going to eat?"

"I haven't had much of an appetite lately," she said.

"Don't be stupid and end up collapsing because you aren't getting enough calories."

Riza turned her head toward him, "Never thought I'd hear that coming from you. A bit hypocritical isn't it?"

Roy ignored her comment and picked up another slice of pizza. "People are talking. They are sensing some tension between us," Roy said, getting straight to the point.

Riza laughed, "Tension? I think hostility would be a better word."

"Regardless of the proper word, our acting is faltering and we need to get it together if they are sensing that. Remedy the situation."

"And how pray tell do you plan on remedying the situation?"

"Why are you angry?"

"Me? You've been rude and an overall ass to me since Maes died! How do you expect me to be?"

"My best friend has died and you still want me to be sweet Roy?"

"No, I understand that you are going through a lot. I'm not asking you to be sweet all the time. I'm asking you not to be an ass."

"There are things I need to do. I can't be the perfect husband right now."

"Where did I say you were supposed to be that? You are putting words in my mouth!"

Roy growled and looked at the fire in the fireplace. "I think. . . I think right now all I can be is your commanding officer."

* * *

**AN: I wanted to continue the argument in this chapter but honestly, I want to rewrite what I have of the rest of it before I post. I really hope you enjoyed this and please drop a review if you have the time. **


	70. Shattered

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 70: Shattered! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction other than writing practice. **

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**Shattered!**

Riza read many romance novels growing up and, as she aged, wondered if many feelings and thoughts written upon their pages were true or just exaggerations by the author to engulf a reader. When she had her first kiss, the thrill, the speeding heart, the weak knees—all the things depicted in the books— were there. The first time she made love was a little different, but for the most part the descriptions were precise. Now she was experiencing the negative facets of what she read. The first time Roy broke her heart, it made her angry. This time, it was more akin to the pain that her favorite authors described. Her chest felt heavy, like piles of large stones were stacked atop of it. Her throat tingled and burned as if thirsty and her lungs felt as though they were refusing her commands to breathe. Her stomach felt overfilled, like the feeling after consuming too much food during the holiday.

"I. . ." Riza began to speak but honestly didn't know how to continue. Her mind was a complete mess. His words seemed to suck out her ability to form a reply to his comment.

"I don't think I can continue going on with us right now." Roy stared into her eyes, his gaze willing her to respond.

Riza kept her mouth open preparing for any words that would come. She was waiting for her mind to catch up to the situation. She couldn't amply process anything going on. She stood and Roy opened his mouth to speak once more. Riza raised her hand and his utterances never came.

She turned her back to him. "O. . . O . . . Okay." Her body was running automatically, taking her to where it could avoid confrontation. She heard the couch creek, an indication he was now standing, and then his footsteps coming toward her, stomping harshly.

He jerked her around to face him. "Is that all you have to say after what's happened?" His grip on her upper arms tightened.

"Yes."

"Stop giving me one word answers!"

She pulled away from him and walked to the door. He kept pace with her until she walked into the hallway and he paused, not venturing outside his apartment. After a brief salute, she turned and went back into her apartment, leaving Roy alone in his doorway, staring at her door across the hall. He shut the door and went back into his living room but instead of sitting on the couch, flopped down onto the floor in front of it. His eyebrows furrowed. Of all the things that he'd expected her to do, freezing up and agreeing with him instantly, wasn't even on the list in his mind. At the very least, he thought she'd yell. Instead, he just got a flat agreement. An "okay". It annoyed him, it made him angry, and it worried him.

He cursed. She agreed to break up and that was the end of it. Yes, the end. He grabbed another slice of pizza and took a rough bite, chewing with his mouth open. Yes, she agreed and he. . . he felt horrible. Why did he feel horrible? Why was he worried for her when he should be focusing on finding Maes' killer? That was the most important thing!

He chomped off another bite of the pizza, now letting his lips smack as he chewed, not tasting the delicious concoction of meat and cheese. Riza should be focusing on helping him find Maes' killer. She shouldn't be worried about him, shouldn't be so pushy and concerned about his welfare. Focusing on her duty to a colleague was most important.

He threw what remained of the slice of pizza into the fire when a gnawing feeling that something wrong occurred, wouldn't stop nagging him.

He stood and grabbed his keys off the table before leaving his place and walking over to hers. He opened the door, which turned out to be unlocked, and walked inside. From the doorway he saw her sitting on her bed, Hayate resting his head on her lap, eyes closed, ears back. She looked up at him as he entered, the whites of her eyes shining dimly in the soft glow coming from the lights outside the window. Her legs were hanging off the side of the bed, her feet not touching the floor.

He locked the door behind him and slowly approached the bedroom, her heedful gaze observing every single move he made. He moved into the room and Hayate opened his eyes, the right side of his lips formed an S and a low growl left the canine companion.

"Down," she said simply. Hayate instantly leaped down from the bed and he watched as the dog walked by him and into the hallway, leaving the two of them alone.

"I need you to say something more," Roy said. "I can't leave it at okay. I need to hear how you feel."

"How I feel?"

"Yes."

"Numb. Insensate. Unintelligent. Inexperienced. Is that enough or should I go on?"

"More than just single words would be good," he said the frustration clear in his tone as he went over to sit beside her on the bed. The room felt like it grew several degrees colder when he took his place next to her and he scooted away a bit, hoping it would go back to normal. He had no such luck. "What we did. It was a mistake."

"We've made a lot of mistakes. Which one are you talking about? The fact we were fucking when Maes called or do we need to go further back to our marriage?"

Roy cringed at the causticity that came out of her voice with those lines but at least she was speaking.

"Both," he said.

"You were one that suggested we get married. You found the officiant and the location. I just went along with it."

"So you didn't want to do it?" Roy asked, suddenly taking offense to what she said. He knew it was unreasonable to do such, but it made his blood boil to think that Riza married him when she didn't actually want to.

"I didn't force you into anything! If you didn't want to marry me then you shouldn't have!"

"You keep putting words into my mouth. Stop it." Riza's expression formed into thin, neutral lines and her voice remained calm. "I never said you forced me into it. I said that I went along with it."

Roy looked away from her to hide the flush of annoyance dispersing upon his cheeks. "Okay. I'm sorry for overreacting."

"You've been doing a lot of that lately. So have I."

"So, what now?"

"You said you couldn't be anything," she swallowed her dread and continued her sentence, "other than my commanding officer."

"Yes, I did."

"Then you shouldn't be in my bedroom, sitting on my bed."

Roy looked at her once more, struggling to keep his aspect as neutral as hers. "I had to follow you."

"Why!" The yell that came from her was unexpected and made Roy yank away. "You say one thing but then you directly contradict what you want! It confuses me!" She fell back against the soft mattress, shook her head, and muttered, "So many things confuse me now."

"Because I'm concerned. Regardless of what happens, you are still someone I care for. You've never frozen up that way. It wasn't how I was expecting you to react."

"It's the first time I've been faced with such a situation."

"Me too."

"So you just want to run away from what we worked so long on? What we've struggled to keep a secret. Then when someone else gets involved, you just want to quit. You lose hope because a friend died."

"He was my best friend!"

Riza shot up and turned to him, releasing the fury that built up within her. "You've made that perfectly clear but I'm you goddamned wife! Or have you forgotten that? I'm honestly trying to be here for you but you won't let me! All you want me for is some blowup doll to fuck when you are feeling grief. You want me sit and take any hostility that you throw at me!"

"That's not the way it is."

"Well it sure feels like it! I understand that you are grieving. I don't expect you to be perfectly kind Roy all the time but I do expect you not to treat me like a piece of dirt under your boot."

"You don't understand what its like to lose someone like that!"

"So you want to lose someone else in the process? If that was me in that grave what would you be doing? Would you prefer that? You can always try human transmutation, I'm sure my soul would be fucking enough! Oh wait! Never mind I'm not up to Maes' status in your life!" She hadn't meant for those words to come out. As always, anger caused the slips of the tongue that were impossible to retract.

"What. . . what did you just say?" Incredulity overwhelmed every morsel of the angry tone present in his voice.

"Nothing, its nothing," she said, moved of the bed and over to the doorway. "Please, just le—"

"Riza! You're … you were jealous of him?"

Riza shook her head to deny it but the gesture was one of falsity. She was jealous of him. Not to the point of hating him of course but she didn't even have such a close bond with Rebecca. She didn't bond like that with anyone. Not even Roy. "Just go," she pleaded.

Roy stood and walked over to her. "Replace you with . . . human transmutation. . . I— Are you insane!"

It was Riza's turn to cringe. "Am I?" she forced out, her voice shaking. "I wonder."

"You must be crazy to think that I would do that to you. Give you up for Maes. A human life for another isn't right no matter who it is. Do you really honestly think that I would trade you for him?"

The conversation's tone was changing so quickly that Riza's head was having a laborious time keeping up. She stared into his eyes, took a deep breath, and gave him her answer. "Yes."

"You are extremely insecure with yourself."

She kept silent. It was the truth so there was no reason to protest it. He was addressing everything that she already knew about herself but was too stubborn and fearful to speak.

Roy reached up to touch her face but she moved away. "We're divorced then?" She deliberately took the topic of conversation away from her insecurities and back onto their marriage.

Roy licked his chapped lips and swallowed. "Is divorced the proper term to use? We never submitted the papers after all."

He yelped when she slammed him against the doorframe, the edge her palms sinking into the front of his shoulders. "What in the hell do you mean by that!" Her voice was the fiercest he ever heard it.

"Exactly the way it sounds!"

Her calm composure shattered, opening her inner Pandora's Box full of repressed emotions. Tears poured forth, flooding down her cheeks and dripping off her face. Her teeth clenched so tightly that he thought if she pressed any harder, they might crack. "Six years! Sick fucking years we've cried to each other, made love, yelled, and almost died together! After all that you don't consider us married because we didn't submit the damned paper?"

Roy lips shook as he stammered for a response. He said the wrong thing and now he was going to pay for it. Riza looked as if she was going to tear him apart with her bare hands for saying what he did. "Riz…Riza… cal—"

"I swear to god if you tell me to calm down I'm going to break your neck."

Roy moved his hands up to grip her wrists and lowered her arms as the bullet injury in his shoulder throbbed sharply. "I'm sorry."

"I consider becoming your wife one of the best things that's ever happened to me. It hurts that you don't feel the same. It made it easier to support you. It hurt less to watch you to go out with different women under the playboy guise because I was the one that you came home to. I thought you considered our marriage precious enough to keep stable no matter what happened. But I—" Riza looked into his eyes, meeting his dark, angst filled stare with her tear-filled one. She pulled away from him and took a deep breath, the exhale shuttering and making a wheezing sound as it left her. "But if not considering our relationship as marriage will make you happy and things easier for you, I won't try to convince you otherwise."

Roy watched as she walked down to the door that led out of the apartment. Each step she took feeling like a stab to his chest. She unlocked it but left her hand on the knob, probably waiting for him to approach before twisting it.

Despite looking so damned weak, with that slouched posture and the tears, she was the strongest person he'd ever seen. She was bearing the guilt over Maes, the recent arguments between them, and taking in everything as best she could. Still standing even though he shot her down and she shot down herself, repeatedly. She was hiding so much that he knew he'd never be able to crack into that shell of ice until she broke through it, grabbed him, and pulled him in. He had his own shield up as well, harboring things that he had yet to tell her. He had to burn through his wall just as she had to melt through her ice. They'd both let a bit of their locked feelings insinuate themselves through small fissures that very night. If they fought through what was happening, then maybe they could win against the blockades they were invoking. They couldn't fight if they weren't together. With her he was only half of himself, he needed her to watch his back. He wanted to take care of her when she needed him.

He took a step toward her. Part of what made Riza so good for him was that she was so similar. There were things she couldn't understand but she tried to do so to the point that her efforts were of absolute flawlessness. When he arrived in front of her, she started to open the door. It moved only a few inches before he placed his palm against the wood and pressed, shutting it. She stared up at him in question when he locked it.

"What you said just now. . ."

"Yes?"

"It won't make things easier. There's no way it ever could. I realized that when I saw you walking away from me." He mustered up the best smile he could manage. He was exhausted to the point he could probably sleep standing up. I made you a promise that I intend to keep for the rest of my life."

She swallowed. "What was it?"

"Through sickness and health, good times and bad," he whispered and bent to kiss her. Riza's knees then gave away and Roy sank to the floor with her. He rested back against the door and pulled Riza closer.

Silence engulfed the two as they sat there mentally wounded but already showing signs of recovery. After a while, Roy chuckled, but there was no amusement in the soft laugh. "Maes would be furious with me if he saw tonight's events."

"I hope he did and that he's waiting in the afterlife for you . . . with several decades' worth of pictures."

Roy laughed at the thought of an angel Maes with several photo albums waiting for him in the afterlife (if one existed). "You cruel wom—" When his voice hiccupped, Riza looked up at him. He saw her eyes broaden and she reached up to touch his face. When she brought her hand down, it was wet.

He quickly wiped away the water, more replaced it, and he quickly wiped it again. When he reached in his pocket to get his handkerchief, Riza grabbed his arm. She pulled him to her and wrapped her arms around his neck. He hugged her body close and began breathing deeply, trying to gain his bearings.

"Let go Roy. Please. Just let it all go." Her words and pleading tone cracked him and the damns holding back the full onslaught of his grief, exploded. His body wracked with sobs and his moans and whimpers carried such a mournful aura that Riza felt as if she was going to die from hearing them. She buried her face in his hair and cried with him, not because she understood his grief but because he was in pain and she could do nothing to alleviate it.

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**AN:** **Honestly, I had a chapter 70 written up to post a few days after the previous chapter but then I read it and hated it. So I scrapped it and rewrote it. Then I still hated it, so I scrapped it and rewrote again. Then yet again, I despised what was on the paper and I couldn't pinpoint why. Then I spoke with my friend rinoaebastel who read it and offered some suggestions about what she felt was off. So then, I rewrote it and was a bit happier but still after reading it I didn't feel the fight was right so I wrote it again. If I write a chapter and I don't feel a certain feeling as I do it, I don't expect the reader to feel that. Each of the previous versions was so different but none gave me the weight in the stomach that I normally get when I write a dramatic or mournful scene. Finally, this one did and I hope I conveyed the feelings well enough to extend the feeling to you. **


	71. A Separate Togetherness

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess **

**Chapter 71: A Separate Togetherness **

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Fullmetal Alchemist and its characters and gain no profit from this fanfiction other than writing practice. I only own my idea.**

**AN: Big thank you to everyone that read and reviewed last chapter. Due to bad internet, it's hard for me to load the site and reply. I really appreciate the encouragement very much. Thank you. **

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**A Separate Togetherness **

A profound mantle of weariness still hung over his body as Roy woke from his sleep courtesy of something shifting against him. He kept his eyes shut and moved his head to the right, smiling softly as a pleasant, familiar smell drifted to his senses. He relaxed his body against the soft mattress, fully intending to go back to sleep until his thoughts interrupted his drift back into slumber. He sieved through the sleepy fogginess in his mind and realized he was in a different location than he remembered being at the time he dozed off. The last thing he recalled was sitting on the cold floor, drowning Riza in tears.

He crept his eyes open, wary of an onslaught from impeding light, only to have dimness before his eyes instead. The only light that was on was the one at the end of the small hallway above the door, where they were sitting before. He looked down and saw that his wife was resting there with him, wrapped in his arms. She was holding his hand, studying it intently as if there was something interesting about it, and unaware that he was awake and staring at her.

"How did I get here," he said and noted how dreary he sounded. She looked up at him, any surprise she had about his being awake not manifesting on her face.

"You don't remember walking over here?"

"No, I don't mean in your apartment. I'm mean in bed. Not that I'm complaining since I'm comfortable."

"We walked over here after you . . . after we finished . . . we came here to lie down." She was hesitant about speaking of what happened between them, not being entirely sure about the official outcome of their marriage despite his earlier words.

"No, I don't remember coming to bed." He cringed as a sharp feeling scratched the lining of his throat. He reached up and rubbed the middle of his neck, as if the action would soothe the inside. Riza sat up and reached over to the side table. She retrieved a glass of water and handed it to him. He sat up against the headboard and took the water, drinking the soothing liquid down avariciously. After emptying the glass, she took it and sat it back down on the table. He looked around for a clock and when finding none, directed his gaze on her. "What time is it?"

Riza curled her legs up to rest against her chest. "It's a little after midnight. When I went to get the water a few minutes ago it was about five after."

"How long have you been awake?" She carried the burden of dark circles under her red tinged eyes, signifying that she was tired.

"I've been awake the entire time," she said.

"Why didn't you sleep?"

"I was thinking and you know when I have something on my mind I can't doze off."

Roy nodded and a heavy unease suddenly fell on top of him. Riza sitting there with her legs pulled up to her chest made her look so closed off. So distant. She felt miles away despite the fact she was less than a foot away from him. Like each side of the full-sized bed were two separate countries, dissevered by the humble gap between the pillows.

He reached over and took her hand, easily pulling her across the invisible borders and into his arms. Lifting her calloused hand to his lips, he kissed each knuckle, then her palm, kindling a tiny smile from her.

"I was thinking about what happened and the things we said." Roy looked at her raptly. He could tell by the way she said the statement that she was going to continue, and that the pause was her trying to structure her words the way she wanted to say them. "I can't help you in so many things. Not the way I should be able to as a wife."

Roy withheld the urge to shiver. Whether it was the way her words came out or the cool air hitting his arms he couldn't tell. "You don't have to do that though," he said. "Just be here."

Riza stared into his eyes, her face sad. "Is that really going to be enough for our sake?

"What do you mean?"

"When I was lying here with you, I was thinking about every single word we spoke during our fight. Processing it and trying to straighten it out into some form that I could wrap my logic around. Mainly to try to figure myself out since I seem to know you better than I do myself. I think that's why I can't . . . I don't know how to explain to you since I still haven't figured it out."

"Are you going to break up with me?" he asked, scared that might be what she wanted to do.

She laughed and shook her head before moving to sit on his lap. Roy welcomed having her so close and wrapped his arms around her body tightly, locking her arms at her side. "Of course not," she said, "but I do think that we need to live separately until you reach your goal."

Roy let go of her, his eyes wide. "What? Why?"

"You've already found a place and so have I. It would be impractical and odd to suddenly move somewhere and end up living in the same place. It's suspicious."

"You're my bodyguard! There's nothing suspicious about that! And until I reach my goal? What if I don't?"

"Don't say that. You will if I have to die to make it happen."

"Stop talking like that."

"We both know it's possible," she said.

"That doesn't mean you need to say it so nonchalantly! I won't let you die."

Riza opened her mouth to respond that he couldn't do much about it, but she instead chose to keep silent. Words like that would open up a plethora of guilt about Maes upon him. That was the last thing he needed at the moment.

"If you want to break up, then just be blunt and say so. You've never held back before."

Riza narrowed her eyes but made no move to break out of his protective hold. "I said I didn't."

"You want to live separately. That's almost the same thing."

"No it isn't. Are you saying that you can't love me if we live separately?"

Roy stared into her gaze and shook his head. "I'd love you if you lived in a bubble and I could never touch you again." Roy wrinkled his nose and pursed his lips. "That doesn't mean I would like it of course."

She ran her hand through his hair. "I would be miserable if I could never touch you again."

He huffed. "You know, if we live apart I can't walk over and sneak into your bed anymore."

Riza laughed aloud, the first joyful noise she made in a long while. She leaned forward and nuzzled his nose with hers. "Of all the things that concern you, it's sneaking into my bed? That's funny."

Roy shrugged and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "I like sleeping with you. Your smell and heat are the best sleeping aides in the world. Everything about you eases me."

"I can always go over to your place and sneak into your bed, if it makes you feel better. You have a rent house right?"

Roy nodded. "Yeah, I decided it was better than being crowded in an apartment building. You can sneak over pretty easily. It's very private."

"There you go. But only on weekends though. Friday night, through Sunday I'm all yours."

Roy raised an eyebrow. He leaned forward until she was resting back on the soft mattress and he was on top of her. "And who do you belong to the rest of the week?"

"The military," she said, teasing him. He played with the fringe of hair that hung over her left eye as his lips moved down to trace her jaw line.

"And on our days off?"

"Hayate," she said with a joking tone. He looked up at her. "You have to share time with the puppy."

Roy laughed and kissed her cheek. "You can bring him to my place can't you?"

"I suppose," she said as if the prospect was tiring.

Roy knew she was right in the way she wanted to keep their living arrangements. Living separately would be the most beneficial to their relationship. Perhaps it would keep the rumors and suspicions of a personal relationship between them at a minimum. "Until my goals are done?" he said making a face as if he'd eaten something particularly nasty. "How about just until I make General? It shouldn't be too long if I work hard."

"Maybe," she said. "Let's see how it works out. Who knows, I might not even be able to live separately for even that long."

"You'd go through Roy Mustang withdrawal."

Riza laughed. "I wouldn't doubt it."

Roy trailed a path of kisses down the side of her face. "You know, living separate could be exciting too."

"Exciting?"

"Yes. Illegal trysts on the weekend," he said, "and going without sex for a while can make a man very hungry when he does get it. I could exhaust you on the weekend after going without for an entire week."

"You exhaust me through the week anyway," she said, "and who says a woman doesn't get hungry for men too." It was true, she desired her husband just as much and just as often as he desired her. Her sex drive had long been accustomed to following right along with Roy's.

"You keep up with me all too well Riza so I would never imply that." He kissed her lips. "It looks like I'll have to work extra hard on the weekends." He skimmed his hands down her sides and under her shirt to her breasts as his mouth moved down to her collarbone. He was faintly aware of one of her hands moving to the back of his head and her fingers curling in his dark locks. He was paying more attention to the way her body shuddered and her breath hitched, as he took a bit of her skin between his teeth. He wanted to put all of his energy into her. To show how much he loved her. Moving his lips to her ear, he whispered a low I love you in Xingese. She responded with her own words to him, not in a whisper but a sensual moan. He removed her shirt then pulled away just long enough to discard his own. He immediately returned his hands and lips to her body, stroking and kissing . . . until the phone rang. They both jerked away from each other and Riza leaped off the bed to answer the call.

Roy sighed and fell onto his back. She offered him a small smile as she walked back into the room, over to him, and sat down on the bed. "Wrong number."

Roy moved an arm around her waist and pulled her down to rest beside him. "We have a lot to work through if we act like that over a phone call."

Riza nodded.

Roy kissed the top of her head. They both relaxed as much as they could, considering their hearts were beating as if they just ran a marathon. Their sexual desires had dissipated thanks to the phone call but their need to hold each other was still alive and well within them. Roy turned to rest on his side and she snuggled closer to him. She moved her leg to rest over his, a position that he usually took up instead. Their bare chests pressed against each other tightly, the feel of skin against skin a soothing and welcoming sensation. Riza skimmed her lips across his bare chest and then kissed his chin before reaching down and lifting up the blankets to cover them.

Within a few minutes, they both fell asleep, the past events lingering heavily on their slumbered besprinkled minds but fatigue winning the battle with their thoughts.

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**An: Honestly, I have a lot more written to go after this but it just didn't seem to fit well. Hence the shortness. Sort of a close out to the fight and moving into the "moving" bit. Next chapter has quite a bit humor so I didn't want to necessarily add that to this. I went with my gut. Hope you liked the chapter and please drop a review if you have the time. **


	72. A Transitional Respite

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Beta: Marxus Krieg  
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**Chapter 72: A Transitional Respite **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction.**

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**A Transitional Respite**

Riza's found that her apartment was more unorganized than she thought and the many boxes she acquired only added to the disarray. Thankfully, Rebecca decided to help her out or she would never get everything done in time. Riza found herself growing more and more amused at her best friend. Since they started packing, the only expressions appearing on the dark haired woman's face were frowns and an occasional pout.

"This sucks," Rebecca said as she shoved a vase full of newspaper and placed it in one of the crates filled with packing stuffing.

"That makes the eighth time you've said that since you got here," Riza said, trying to keep her tone as level as possible. Rebecca was acting like a high school girl whose friend was moving away.

"So what? It . . . well it sucks!"

"And there's the ninth."

"Riza!" Rebecca whined, drawing out the "a" at the end of Riza's name. She latched onto her friend's arm. "Why don't you stay out here? I bet you could become like a captain or even a lieutenant colonel in a year if you didn't stay as an aid. If you did that, you could help him a whole lot more!"

"Rebecca, I've told you already. I have to—"

"Protect him. Yeah, yeah."

"He's my husband too and I need to be where he is."

"I know. I would want the same thing if I were in your position." Rebecca flopped down to sit on her butt from the position of sitting on her knees. "But it still sucks though."

Riza smiled and shook her head as she taped a box and wrote the contents on the side with a black marker. "That makes ten times."

"Whatever. I'm going to miss having my best friend around."

"It's not too far from here to Central. You can come to visit my place once a month at least."

"You'd better count on that. Speaking of your place, did you and Mustang manage to find an apartment building where you can live across from each other? Or at least in the same building or neighborhood."

Riza knew she was going to get a wild reaction with her next words but said them anyway. "We are going to live away from each other for a while." Riza counted down in her head. _Explosion in five, four, three, two, one. _

"What in the hell! Are you divorcing? Did he cheat on you with some big double D hussy with a leg closing problem?"

Her statement surprised Riza but she didn't let it show. "I don't like the D word. Don't use that around me

"Double D's?"

"No, the other one." The word divorce felt like a heavy weight someone made her swallow, leaving a lump in her throat that almost made it hard to breathe.

Rebecca regarded her for a moment, concern feathering across every nuance of her face. "Riza, are you di… doing that D word?"

"Of course not," she replied, "But we came close."

"Then why separate? Won't it be all the more dangerous when you two do meet up? At least living in the same building gives you an excuse if you are seen near him."

"Won't be too risky. Roy got a private rent house and we are going to meet on weekends."

Rebecca folded her arms over her chest. "I don't understand you two. It wouldn't have been hard to find the same building with two apartments available. At least on the same floor. From what I've read, Central cities population is taking a nosedive."

"We both need some space to deal with matters. Roy's still not over Maes' death and I'm still reeling from so much that's happened. He and I had a huge fight and issues came out that we'd been keeping to ourselves for so long. We need the distance for the sake of our mental health and our relationship."

"But you two are still considering each other as husband and wife right?"

"Yes."

"And still love each other?"

Riza smiled at her friend and noticed the surprised look on Rebecca's face. She rarely smiled a happy smile. "We love each other very much Becca. I think these trials proved it even more if any doubts were present."

Rebecca nodded and returned her friend's smile. "I'm glad," she said. "You two, as much as I don't' care for Mustang, are good for one another. To be honest, I would make me lose all hope in relationships if you broke up."

"That means a lot to me.**" **

Rebecca heaved. "Now I have to hit some luck and find a relationship as strong as yours. All the good men are either gay or married."

"You mean you want a lover rather than a, and I'm quoting you on this, wealthy bastard."

Rebecca shifted uncomfortably. Really, the man she wanted wasn't that wealthy, at least not stinking rich, but he was exactly what she was looking for, sans the smoking. She was confident that if he stuck around, if they could start a relationship, that she could get him to quit. There was no use in dwelling on that though. Her love interest was going with Mustang as well. Mustang had all the luck.

"Who says that I can't be in love with a wealthy bastard?" Rebecca said, deciding to keep up the gold-digger façade.

"You have a point," Riza said then got an evil idea to use to tease her friend. It would be the last time she could get Rebecca riled up for a long while. "Hey," she said, turning to her. "I know a good man you can get. They even called him "The Bastard," in his younger days. He's rich too."

"Really? Who is he?" Riza grinned, reminding Rebecca of Mustang instantly. Perhaps he rubbed off a bit too much on Riza. "Okay… there's something wrong with what you just said." She ran Riza's statement through her head and two words popped out at her like neon lights. "Younger days? Who are you talking about Riza?"

"My grandfather!"

Rebecca gagged. "Oh my god Riza! That's sick!"

Riza tilted her head to the side. "You could be my step grandmother!"

"Oh god I think I'm going to throw up. Stop it!"

"I could even call you Granny Becca!"

"Riza Hawkeye, if you don't stop it I'm going to lose my lunch all over your rug!"

Riza laughed aloud. "But my grandfather is very wealthy after all. You never mentioned age being a factor."

Rebecca got up on her knees. "I don't want a dinosaur! Okay, I'm so adding more adjectives to my statement. I want a handsome, young, wealthy bastard."

Riza turned her back to Rebecca and began packing once again. "That's better but be sure not to rob the cradle. State alchemists like Edward Elric are off limits."

"Bitch," Rebecca said and grabbed a pillow from the couch. She threw it at Riza head, the blond easily dodging the soft object. Without missing a moment, she grabbed it and threw it behind her, hitting Rebecca directly in the face before she had time to react.

Rebecca didn't know how her friend managed to hit her without glancing in her direction. "How do you do that?"

"I'm just that good."

On his way to his apartment, Roy spotted Rebecca leaving Riza's place. He stopped and watched as the woman hugged his wife, surprised that his wife allowed the intrusion of her personal space. She didn't like physical contact with very many individuals, citing it as extremely disquieting. Rebecca turned toward him and raised an eyebrow while pursing her lips. The look on her face told him he was being examined to determine whether he was an enemy or ally. A smile flashed on her lips and she walked towards him. She stopped beside him.

"You better not treat my friend badly. If you even think about it, just remember that I can snipe too and I'll shoot off your meat rod." She said and continued on her way. Any other man might have worked up a sweat at the threat but he smiled, thankful that Riza had a friend like her. Even if she was the virtuoso bitch of the Amestris military.

Despite her skill in Crabbing 101, Roy felt a bit guilty that they had to go to Central and Riza had to leave her. It was necessary however if they wanted to reach the top and help the country. He walked up to his door and moved the bag in his right hand to his left so that he could unlock his door. Riza stood in her doorway and waited for him to turn around. He opened his door and turned to her when she spoke.

"Sir, I have some spare empty boxes if you'd like them." Roy smiled. That was code for; I know you didn't get the boxes yourself because you always forget so I got lots of them for you. How he loved his wife. He waited for a moment before responding, admiring the way she looked for a moment. The Capri pants and loose white shirt tied in a knot at the bottom was extremely attractive. It made her look more like a civilian wife, than a soldier.

"Thank you, I could use them," he said. What he really meant was: Yes, you are right, I was an absentminded twit and forgot to get anything to pack my things the way I was supposed to. "I'll be over to get them in a minute."

He went into his apartment and straight to the kitchen to sit down the bags of takeout he got for the two of them. After changing out of his good clothes and into some jogging pants and an old tank top, he went over to Riza's place. She left the door open so he grabbed several of the boxes, seeing that she had all of her things packed up and ready for shipping to Central.

She walked out of her kitchen carrying a large pitcher of tea with bright yellow lemons floating in the liquid. "I got Xingese. Is that okay? The pizza place we like was closed down for repairs and the other was the one we didn't like."

"Xingese is fine," she said. She followed him to his apartment, locking and shutting the door to her own before entering his. She closed his door and went into the kitchen where Roy was already removing the food from their respective bags.

"Shouldn't we pack a bit first before eating?"

"But then the food would get cold," he said, "and the tea will get warm."

Riza moved over and sat down beside him. She poured the cold tea into the glasses he had on the counter and picked up her chopsticks.

"I got you something," he said while shifting through another bag. Roy removed a blue box and sat it down. Riza recognized the box as being from her favorite bakeshop. He lifted the lid and saw a dozen of the chocolate chip almond cookies that she loved. "I figured we could maybe have some coffee this evening in front of the fireplace," he said. "To spend time together before we leave for Central."

Riza leaned over and kissed him for the sweet gesture. Their first night together in Central, after she was out of academy and first assigned to him, was spent in front of the fireplace with coffee and cookies. It was one of her most precious memories. Any time spent with him that was uncomplicated and without worries was a treasure in her heart. "Thank you," she said when she pulled away. "With all that happened with us, the fact you thought of something like this makes it all the sweeter."

"I'm not going to be able to do things like this very often in Central after all."

Riza felt bad that he was always doing sweet things for her but she rarely did anything. She suddenly felt like she was half-assing the romance in their relationship. She kissed him again. "I appreciate you so much."

For the rest of the time as they sat and ate, silence folded in on them, cradling them in comfort instead of smothering them with stress. After they finished with their meal, cleaned, and dried the dishes, they went about the arduous task of packing up Roy's things. Starting with his living room, which was currently a disaster zone.

"Did a hurricane hit this room or something?"

"Of course not . . . it was a tornado."

Riza laughed and shook her head at the joke before walking over to his desk with a box. She began packing up the items there while Roy began packing the books stacked haphazardly on the shelf. The next hour was spent keeping Roy from reading all the books that he was "packing."

"Roy, could you go get me another box?"

When he didn't respond she turned and just as she expected, he was doing anything but packing. He had a book in front of his face, his eyes and mind so engulfed in the text that he was paying no attention to the world around him.

"Don't you think you should rent a storage place for all of those," she said, after jerking the fifth book he began reading from his hand and sticking it in the box. "You are supposed to be packing, not reading."

"Sorry, I just get so interested in those books really quickly. I wouldn't be packing until I finished them."

"And that's why I'm helping you instead of relaxing this evening."

Roy scooted closer to her. "So spending time with me isn't relaxing."

"We are working so it's about as restful doing this as it is when we are in the office."

"I find being in the office with you very calming."

"That's why you have such a hard time doing paperwork. You are too slacked."

"I did all my paperwork today. I even turned down some sleep in one of the nap rooms to get it done."

Riza put down the book in her grasp and ran a hand through his hair; Roy didn't expect the gentle gesture. "I know but today was different than other days. We'd gone through so much last night. We both were exhausted."

"That's putting it mildly. I almost lost you too. Not because of death but because of my own stupidity."

Riza shook her head. "No, it's not just your fault. I'm to blame just as much. We weren't thinking clearly or understanding things the right way and it all came to a head. We should have communicated more to each other."

"Yeah but it still leads to us being separated," Roy muttered. He pulled away form her hand and began to stack books into the box. He couldn't help but be a bit hostile over their living situation. It was too different after so many years of being near each other.

She didn't respond to his words. She didn't like that they were living so separated from each other but that didn't mean it wasn't for the best. She picked up the book he was reading before and opened it. She tilted her head and blushed at the picture on the page she'd turned to. As she read the caption under the picture, it only succeeded in painting the shade of pale pink on her cheeks a darker red.

"Riza, could you hand me that book you took?" He extended his arm and hand behind him, waiting for her to put the book into his waiting grasp. When he didn't feel it after a moment, he jerked around to see Riza with her wide eyes and a deep red blush on her face.

"Hey! Don't read that!" Roy moved to grab the book but Riza dodged out of the way, making Roy hit on his face. He got up on his forearms and looked to his right to see her getting to her feet and sitting on the edge of his desk chair.

"I can't believe you read things like this!"

Roy got to his knees. "You shouldn't look at stuff like that! It's not fit for a lady!"

Her jerked forward to grab her but she easily jumped out of the way and ran to stand in front of the couch. A smirk crossed her lips as she turned the page. She was letting him chase her on purpose. He shouldn't give in but he didn't want her reading that book!

Roy got to his feet and crept around the coffee table like he was a mugger sneaking up on his victim. "We are supposed to be packing, not reading." He leaped for her to knock her on the couch but found himself kissing the cushions, her on the other side. Where in the hell did she learn to move that quick?

"That's a hypocritical statement don't you think?" She didn't take her gaze off the page as she spoke, yet she always managed to know when and where he was going to strike next.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been reading for the past hour. It's my turn."

"Okay. Take a break. Read! Just don't read that book." He never sounded so desperate in his life.

Her eyebrows rose when she turned the page. "Well I can say that this is definitely not an alchemy book." He jumped over the back of the couch and paused in his place, angling against the sofa causally. He acted like he wasn't trying to catch her but knew in the back of his mind that she wasn't going to fall for it.

"No… it's not," he said and leaned toward her.

"Ah, I see. Page fifteen is familiar. I always wondered where you learned to do that. I'm relieved it was from a book," she said for once being the cause of a blush to spread rapidly across his pale face.

"Come on, give me the book," he said. "Please?"

She looked up at him with a very appreciative look. "Even though it left me sore for a few hours, I enjoyed that one. You learned well."

She flipped the page. "Hey, there are notes on this and the ink is fresh."

"No! Not that one!" He remembered making notes on some other interesting things he could do to her in that particular position. He rushed after her and she ducked out of his reach yet again. She ran down the hall laughing, making him smile slightly that she was enjoying herself. Until he came back to reality about the things she was going to read. "Riza, come on!" She rushed in the bedroom and right when his hand went on the knob, the locked clicked.

"Riza, we are supposed to be packing!"

"Go ahead, I'm reading." He sat down and leaned his back against the door.

"Riza!"

"This page and your notes are really interesting. It's a tempting idea to say the least."

Roy's eyes widened. That was his favorite page but he had yet to work up the guts to ask her to try it. "Really?" he asked, hopeful that she'd be willing to entertain the idea of trying it.

"Yes, but that doesn't me we are going to do it. Going at it there would be too risky and I don't like to be tied up since the handcuff incident last April!"

"I apologized for being so rough!" Roy protested. "I got carried away and you seemed to enjoy it at the time!"

"I had to wear gloves for a week to cover my wrist. During the exams my doctor thought I was suicidal and sent me to have an evaluation with the shrink!"

Roy didn't respond. He thought it was rather sexy when she handcuffed him after all so he couldn't really relate to her dislike. What was the big deal about a psychiatric evaluation when things in bed were so damned hot?

"And the location of this next one. There's no way!"

Roy added another slash to his mental list of places he wanted to make love to Riza. Then again, with his skills he could probably get her to give in once they were in said location. He'd only try after their relationship was permitted. If that ever happened.

He got to his feet, sighed, and went into the living room to continue packing. There was no use in trying to hide the fact hat he was reading the sex books that he'd gotten as gag gifts from Hughes. At first he'd ignored them, letting them sit at the back of his bookshelf for a long time, but then due to boredom and having read his other books, he took them out and skimmed. That skimmed turned into deep reading and that deep reading turned into the necessity to keep notes at the corner of the pages and circle diagrams.

He felt guilt at thinking of making love to Riza now when Hughes was dead. Gracia no longer had her husband to hold because of him. Roy squashed the guilt trip that was impeding upon him quickly by thinking about Hughes' reaction. Hughes wouldn't want him to feel that way. If he were alive and found out about his marriage, he would have teased them constantly over their sex lives and how they hid the office sex from everyone. Roy had to be truthful and say that he still carried bitterness against Riza for having to keep it a secret from his friend, but that was normal. She carried bitterness toward Maes after all. It was probably normal to carry such feelings and they just didn't realize it.

After packing, taping and labeling several boxes, he heard a noise behind him and turned. Riza was standing at the doorway, holding the book in her grasp. Roy looked away from her, embarrassed at being caught with such reading material, and rested his hand on the edge of a box. "I left this one open so you could pack the book here."

"I'm keeping it," she said.

Roy looked up at her in shock. "What? Why?"

"I want to read the rest of it so don't pack it." She placed the book beside the door.

Roy sighed. "Most of the skills I use on you, I learned from that book." He loathed acknowledging the resource of his skills and his voice came out with a depressing moan.

"Good," she said, "I don't want to think about you learning that from other women." She grabbed two empty boxes and blushed before turning toward the hallway. "Besides, I want to try page forty-four and fifty one someday," she said quickly before leaving the room and a stunned Roy.

He plunged into his memory, trying to recall what was on those pages. After coming up with no memory of them, he stood and walked over to the book. He flipped it open to forty-four, then fifty-one. The smirk that appeared when he saw forty-four grew fuller when he saw the other page. He'd have to get himself into staggeringly good shape to do those two things but all the hard work would be worth it. He didn't care how hard he had to work; there was no way he wanted to miss doing the activity on those pages.

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**AN: I wasn't sure about making this chapter longer or not but at the suggestion of my beta and after deliberation, decided to keep this much as 72. Chapter 73 is almost done (just have to check over a few things) and will be posted next week. XD Hope you enjoyed it and please drop a review if you have the time. They are much loved. **


	73. Roy's Thoughts and a Good Friend

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Proofreader: Marxus Krieg**

**Chapter 73: Roy's Thoughts and a Good Friend**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist **

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**Roy's Thoughts and a Good Friend**

When Roy and Riza woke on the morning the team left for Central, he immediately noticed something was wrong with his wife. He tried to think of if he did anything to anger her last night and came up with nothing. So, he chalked up her actions to lack of sleep, since she tossed and turned the entire night. He'd tried everything to sooth her than he knew worked in the past; a kiss on the ear, singing in a low tone, holding her against him, and nothing seemed to work. With everything he asked, she answered in short sentences or single words. Usually she did this when she was angry or annoyed but her words spoken with her normal voice tone, with no positive or negative pitch changes.

He'd kept his eyes on her all morning, it being increasingly more difficult to do so when meeting up with the others at the station. He couldn't stare at her too much or they would get suspicious. For a few moments before they boarded the train, he was able to keep his gaze away from her. That was because of Havoc and Rebecca. Any idiot would feel the thick cloud of tension that cocooned around he two. Rebecca had gone there to see Riza off and he'd felt it the moment she spoke her goodbyes to Havoc. It was an aura that landed smack-dab between anger and deep sadness.

Now, that he was on the train and sitting across from Riza, he was back to staring at his wife, all the while trying to make it look like he wasn't. She was looking out the window instead of reading the romance novel she usually read during these trips. Hayate was sitting beside her, his head resting on her lap while she scratched him gently between the ears. _What a lucky dog._ When the train jerked, indicating it was starting its journey to Central, she didn't react any differently or make any comments about leaving.

Everyone in the car stayed silent until the train completely left the East City region. It was Havoc that broke the quiet.

"Man, we always have to move so quickly. They never give us enough time." He flicked the ashes from his cigarette into one of the trays built into the sides of the train car Roy could pinpoint the frustration in his voice. There was more to it than frustration on actual moving. Something else was bothering the blond second lieutenant.

"You knew we were moving a week ago. That should have been time for you to pack," Breda said.

Havoc just mumbled.

"We left East so soon so that we could get settled in Central," Riza said. Everyone looked at her. Roy was relieved that she was talking a bit more now. Perhaps she just needed to relax and fully absorb the changes occurring. "General Grumman said our job there began in a week. We have three days to pack and get to Central and four days there to get settled in before starting work."

"Didn't they rebuild headquarters there?" Fuery asked.

"Yeah, that's right. They expanded and rearranged everything. Wonder where our office is," Breda said.

Without hesitating in the slightest, Riza answered his question. "East side, fourth floor, office suite D."

Roy blinked. He hadn't even known where they would be working.

"I called ahead sir," she said, answering the question poised on his lips.

"Thank god for the ever efficient Hawkeye. If it weren't for you we'd spend the day looking for the office," Havoc said.

"Yeah, and you guys would never get anything done," Falman said, earning a laugh from everyone except Riza.

Roy smiled slimly. What he said was true after all. Falman was the only one that seemed to do his paperwork without being told. Fuery would as well if Havoc and Breda didn't annoy the young sergeant to high heaven. "It's going to be hard work," Roy began and leaned back against the seat. "You can't dally at Central the way you did out east."

"Remember those words Colonel," she said. "You wouldn't want to be called a hypocrite now would you?" For the first time that morning, he could hear a tinge of personality in her tone. Of course, it had to come in when she teased him.

"Noted Lieutenant," he said.

"You know, it's going to be weird not have Lieutenant Col…" he trailed off.

"Go ahead Furey," Roy said, noticing his hesitation.

"Well, it's going to be weird not being bombarded with pictures from Lieutenant Colonel Hughes," Fuery said.

Roy chuckled and nodded.

"Or watching him annoy other people," Breda said. "The looks on their faces were priceless. They never knew what hit him after Hughes left."

"I liked seeing the Colonel get annoyed with him," Riza said. Everyone was surprised; she clearly caught everyone off-guard with her statement.

"What do you mean Lieutenant?" Roy asked. He never knew Riza paid attention to his interactions with Hughes enough to amuse her.

"It was funny to see you flustered. You are usually rather calm. He was the only one that could annoy you to the point you wanted to kill him but still get away with it."

"I bet you could get away with it Lieutenant," Fuery said.

Riza looked back out the window. She then muttered something under her breath that caught Roy's attention. "I don't have his gift with the Colonel." Her tone was bastioned with a self-loathing and sadness that unnerved him. Riza was one of the most passionate, kind, self-sacrificing people and to think that she couldn't live up to his best friend was ridiculous. The mere thought that she felt she had to try was insane. She was different from his friend but that difference was what he loved. Maes was an outgoing and obvious type funny. Riza's humor was frank and wry, something that was refreshing after a day of craziness.

Roy directed his gaze to look out the window trying to think of a way to cheer up his wife without making it obvious to the others. He kept focused on his surroundings and read a sign that they'd passed by. His body tensed and his palms began to sweat. That was the reason that Riza was so uptight and not able to sleep. Her hometown was on the way to Central via this route. When they first transferred to the East, they were able to take a night train, the quicker of the two trains heading through the country. That train didn't pass this place. This time, not only was it daylight but this train stopped at the depot in her hometown.

While Roy found himself treasuring the town for giving him Riza, he hated it for bringing Riza such bad memories. She went through so much with the people there who constantly treated her like she was a second-class citizen. It brought back memories of her father and that damned tattoo that he wished he could make disappear off her skin even if it meant he'd never have flame alchemy. That tattoo restricted her in ways that he knew frustrated her. Very simple ways that she'd deny bothered her. Like being able to wear specific types of clothing that other women were able to wear. His wife loved dressing up, though she wouldn't admit it, and her choices were limited. Even when she was bare in front of him, she was always tense when her back was to him. Afraid the scar marred her skin repulsively. Despite the fact that she asked him to destroy the tattoo, he always carried a weight of guilt in the back of his mind. But regardless of that guilt, there was never a time he considered her unattractive or damaged goods. He just couldn't convince her of that.

He glanced at her and saw her tense as the conductor came in to announce their upcoming stop. Her past in that town was right under the horrible past in Ishbal on the scale of painful memories.

"Newton stop coming up folks." The conductor quickly walked through the car and out the other side. Riza stood as the train started its slowdown. Hayate jumped down from the seat and waited for his mistress to grab her coat and suitcase.

"Why are you getting up Lieutenant?" Falman asked before Roy got a chance.

"Newton is my hometown so I thought I'd go visit my parent's graves," she said.

"Why didn't you say something about that earlier?" Roy asked and tensed up at the thought of her being alone in that town.

"All due respect, Sir but what I do on my time off is no concern but my own unless it risks the safety of the team. I doubt me going to visit two graves will do that." She didn't speak with any anger, just the simple sternness that he was used to hearing.

"Of course Lieutenant. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry." He looked into her eyes and saw . . . nothing. There was no emotion in them, nothing she wanted to communicate using her gaze. They were just eyes.

"It's alright, Sir," she said. I suppose I should have told you instead of having you be surprised."

That was an understatement if he ever heard one.

Riza picked up Hayate and moved to a seat beside the door as the train hissed to a complete halt. "I'll see you all on Monday," she said, then left the train.

As she passed by the window, Roy called out to her. "Be careful Lieutenant Hawkeye."

She smiled gently at him and he knew she could see past his worry. "I always am, Sir."

Roy watched as she walked way from him and into the station. He slouched slightly in his seat. He saw Havoc make a weird motion.

"Hey, let's get off for a bit and stretch our legs," Breda said. Falman, Breda and Fuery stood and left the car.

"Did you tell them to go?" Roy said after they left and he and Havoc were the only ones still occupying the car.

"Did you hear me say anything to him?" Roy remained silent. "You okay chief?"

"Yeah."

"You don't seem like it. You were surprised when she got off the train. Didn't' she tell you that she was going to visit her parents?"

"No. She didn't even hint that she planned on doing it."

"Oh."

"I think maybe we are still having a bit of trouble by not being honest with each other again." Roy felt nauseous at the thought of fighting with her like they had before. It felt weird yet comforting talking to Havoc about this. Roy really trusted him with the situation so maybe it would be good to get things out.

"Again?"

"Things came to a boiling point the other day and we almost broke up."

" What! I mean I noticed the tension but I didn't think it was that bad between you two."

Roy folded his arms across his chest and nodded. "We are even going to live separately in Central."

"So you broke up?"

"I said almost."

"That's hard to believe."

Roy looked over at him. "Why? We are only human."

"Because you two are so in love with each other you can barely contain it."

"Us getting marred the way we did was stupid," he said. "It risks everyone around us but we didn't' think about that. All we cared about was ourselves. We remain idiots and stay together when it's the worst path for us to take."

"I don't think that's the case Chief. I think it's the best. If you weren't together the way you are now, you'd both be miserable and probably distracted in your goal. There's nothing wrong with trying to make yourself happy."

"I wonder if she's really happy though."

"From what I've seen she is. Why do you wonder that though?"

Roy chuckled. He felt like he was talking to a therapist instead of his subordinate. "I've put her through the ringer to be honest. Then just now. . . her eyes are going to haunt me for a while."

"What was wrong with them?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"There was nothing in them. When you've been around someone as long as I have her, you learn to read someone's gaze. Last night she was fine. Just now, they scared me. It was as if Riza's spirit was sucked right out of her body and replaced her with a depressed robot."

Roy really wished he hadn't started the conversation. Havoc would probably think he was an idiot for being distressed over a gaze. He was surprised when the man nodded, as if he understood. When he got to Central, he'd just unload on Hug…He cut off his thoughts immediately.

"Why don't you follow her and talked to her?"

"If she wanted me to do that then she would have told me before that she was coming here. No, its best if she spends this time alone."

"And you'll end up spending an entire day worrying about her?" Havoc said. A small smirk formed on his lips. "Maybe you'll even get jealous that she might run into an old boyfriend?"

Roy raised an eyebrow. "She never had a boyfriend here."

"Are you sure?"

Roy sifted his brain for anyone that Riza got close to other than him. He couldn't remember her being around anyone her age. Even if there were any men that were interested they were too fearful of her father to venture asking her on a date. Still there was a possibility that she'd dated someone before he came along. A tiny one, but it was there. He never asked her about it.

"I'm sure," Roy finally answered. Riza would have mentioned it without his inquires if she'd dated anyone of any importance. Havoc was just trying to get him to follow Riza. "Stop trying to make me jealous. Even if there were an old boyfriend there, I trust her enough that she wouldn't cheat."

"But there's always the other person to worry about," Havoc said. Suddenly his face turned bitter.

Roy noticed the look and took the opportunity to change the subject away from him. "What's wrong?"

Havoc looked out the window to make sure Breda and the others weren't coming. "Chief, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Well. . . you said that you aren't worried about Riza cheating but do you ever get jealous of other men around her?"

"Why you ask?"

"Just curious," he said. Roy wasn't convinced. "I mean Riza is a great person and I know she probably gets hit on a lot."

"I don't think she does. She has a stern reputation and with the frat laws in effect no one would dare."

"Those only apply to the direct line of command. I've read the military code book and its perfectly fine as long as they aren't' on the same team so to speak."

Roy tensed as a vision of Ramsey, the only other man Riza said she ever kissed, flashed into his head. He pushed it back and focused on Havoc's words. "Why in the hell did you take the time to read the codebook? It's not exactly something you do for recreation and I know you wouldn't remember that code from academy."

Havoc shifted nervously. "That doesn't matter. What does matter is Riza can very well date someone military, her type in other words. Or she could date a civilian."

A vision of Edmund Carnell with his friendly smile, came to his head. He mentally cursed an extended stream of profanities, the words even visualizing in bold spiky letters in his imagination. He would be good for Riza. . . No. He'd be perfect for her. He shared her interests, he didn't have a dangerous job, he went through Ishbal so he could relate to her nightmares, and he loved guns. "Perfect," Roy muttered and folded his arms over his chest.

"So you do get jealous?"

Roy stared at him and nodded. "Extremely jealous. It's normal."

Havoc nodded. "I get jealous too. I really loused up and now tension around us is so thick you couldn't cut it with a blowtorch."

Roy thought for a moment and his eyes widened. "Rebecca! The girlfriend that you said you had was… Haha! It was Rebecca?"

Havoc looked away and sighed sadly. Roy took pity on the man. "So you broke up because you got jealous?"

"I really loused up," he repeated. "I made a tiny comment about her being around a lot of men and she blew up at me. She accused me of not trusting her and then punched me in the gut and left."

Roy chuckled. He was very lucky that Riza wasn't as violent as Rebecca was. "Call her when you get back and apologize. The commute from Central to East isn't that bad and you can always meet up in a town in between on weekends."

"You really think I should?"

"She'll probably be waiting for you to call."

"Thanks Chief."

"Now I have question for you," Roy said.

"Yeah?"

Roy glanced out at a billboard for some housing project for charity while in the middle of his question. "How in the hell can you date such a harp… Oh shit!" he yelled and stood.

"What? What is it?" Havoc said in a panic.

Falman and the others entered the train as the conductor called all aboard. Roy grabbed his bags and rushed off the train, realizing Riza was in for a giant shock if she got to that house before him.

He pushed by the guys and in one leap, left the train. "Havoc! Get my things to my place please!" he yelled before turning and running into the station like his ass was on fire.

"What's his deal?" Breda asked.

"Um… the Lieutenant dropped her gun. I guess the holster broke. The chief didn't want her to be in the town without her gun."

Havoc was relieved that the excuse seemed good enough for the other three men. Boy, running interference was hard work. He smiled and lit another cigarette, but his friends were worth working as grueling as he could to protect them.

* * *

**AN: The next chapter will be posted next week. If you are a reader of Vacuous Heart of Blood, I am working on it. I have to do a rewrite since I'm not currently happy with the chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review if you have the time. **


	74. Empathy

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Proofread and Beta: Marxus Krieg **

**Chapter 74: Empathy**

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to FMA just my story plots. **

**AN: The man's dialogue has bad grammar intentionally.**

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* * *

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**Empathy**

"Thank you very much for giving me a ride to my house Sir. I really appreciate it," Riza said to the man driving the small wagon she was riding in. Hayate was resting peacefully beside her, likely resisting the urge to get out and run the green fields instead of sitting so calmly.

"No need ta thank me miss." His accent was thick and undeniably Cretian. "It was on ma way and its four miles frm' da town to da place ya goin'. If ya don't mind me sayin' so. I didn't think sucha young'n such as yourself owned da place. I figure it da be a rich old man."

She found his statement to be stranger than his dialect. "Why would a rich old man want to own that house? It's practically in parts."

He looked at her queerly. "Just how long have ya been away from her' miss?

"About eight years," she said. "Why do you ask?"

"The house dat ya headin' for been in great condition for da past five years."

"What? That's impossible."

"Nope, not impossible since it is. Ya in for a big surprise if ya aint da one dat's been shelling out da money to fix her up. Mister Baker and his wife Geraldine been taken care of the place since da workers left."

Riza shook her head. "It wasn't me. I don't know anything about it and I don't make enough money to have it taken care of, much less fixed up."

"Den someone showed ya a big act of kindness. Biggin indeed."

They turned to the right, the horses not hesitating in going a different route than normal.

"Apparently so," she said. She disbelieved the man's words even though he had no reason to lie. Perhaps he was making a mistake. She nodded once, affirming the thought in her mind, and began looking around her. Everything was in so much better condition than it was before she left. In fact, the entire town was much friendlier, bigger, and cleaner than before. It was evidence that things changed whether one was around or not. Not that she really needed evidence of that, but if she did, it was there.

When they pulled into the driveway to her destination, she saw that the man's words about the house were fact. She hopped off the wagon with her bag. Hayate jumped down and landed beside her. He stayed by her leg, sensing her shock and waiting for orders to react.

"Are…Are you sure this is the right place?"

"Yup," he said.

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Thank you then," she said.

"Welcome Ma'am. Hope ya enjoy da house." She watched as he made a wide circle with the wagon and moved out of the driveway before she turned her attention back to her home. She regarded the place and shook her head in amazement. She never remembered the house being as beautiful as it was now.

The poison ivy and ugly weeds no longer scaled the dull exterior like an army overrunning an already ravaged foe. In fact, the outside of the house was the complete opposite of its former appearance. The small porch attached to the home was brand new, no longer falling in on itself the way it had when she left. The roof didn't have the wooden planks nailed over the holes; it was now fitted with new shingles, bright green ones that glistened in the daylight. The yard and the hedges were cut and trimmed to almost excessive evenness. A mix of Honeysuckle vines and climbing roses replaced the old weeds that used to climb up the trellis to the right of the porch.

"See Max! I told you someone arrived!'

Riza turned her head toward the edge of the house and saw an older woman walking toward her. An extremely tall man walked behind her in a less enthused manner.

Riza took a step back, putting herself on guard as she saw the woman's eyes widened and her pace increase. She heard Hayate growl and whispered for him to remain still. She didn't think the friendly looking woman was going to attack her, but hugging her to the point of bodily harm was a possibility.

"You are Miss Hawkeye aren't you?"

"Um… Yes."

She grabbed Riza's right hand in both of hers. "I'm Geraldine and this is my husband Max," she said, motioning her head toward the lanky man behind her. "You've hardly changed from your photos. You are just as pretty now as you were as a little girl."

Riza nodded slowly, unsure of what to say.

"Gerri, I think we need to explain. Mister Mustang said she didn't know about him doing this after all." He smiled at Riza, easing her somewhat.

"Mustang? What's he got to do with this?"

"I thought he'd bring you here himself. My guess is that you came here on your own without telling him. Your expression says you are surprised."

"Surprised is putting it mildly."

"Mister Mustang paid some workers to fix this place up. He pays Gerri and me to keep the weeds trimmed and cleaning the house."

Something jerked in Riza's memory. "He pays you 225 each doesn't he? Every two weeks?"

"Yes, that's right."

Riza was happy finally knowing where that money went. She'd balanced his checking book so many times and always asked about the 450 cenz he spent. He'd only labeled it as expenses and it drove the organizational part of her mind crazy. He always brushed it off as just being things he needed. Nothing in particular. She always assumed it was for his dates.

"Are you going to stay the night dear?" Gerri asked, bringing Riza out of her thoughts.

"Yes, that would be nice."

"Good good, I keep the house stocked with food just in case so you'll have everything you'll need. Would you like us to show you around?"

Riza nodded. She was thrilled that her old home was restored into a more livable residence.

–

After the small tour, Riza saw that nothing about the house had changed except the appearance. The rooms were in the same locations that they were when she lived there.

She thanked the Bakers for their kindness and they left through the back door. As soon as Riza closed it, a knock hit the front door. She walked through the house, unlocked the door, and opened it. She was very surprised at seeing a haggard looking Roy standing there carrying his suitcase.

Without questioning why he was there, she took his arm, lead him inside, and over to the couch. She went to the kitchen and got him a glass of water, returning as quickly as she could. He took the glass and sipped it slowly while trying to catch his breath.

"Maybe… I am . . . out of shape . . . more than I thou… thought I was."

"Did you run here?"

"Walked and jogged mostly."

"Carrying a bag and wearing that hot uniform in this heat? Are you crazy! It's nearly four miles from the station!"

"Not a bi…big deal." He took off his coat and sighed. His shirt was soaked with sweat and sticking to his arms and chest like a second skin. She reached down and began to unbutton his shirt. He sat up straight and shrugged it off. "Ah, that feels better. It was a bit longer than four miles. I actually took a wrong turn and had to go back onto the main road."

Riza narrowed her eyes. "Don't do that again!"

"I did far worse in academy and basic. Carried far more weight too."

"You were ten years younger back then! You don't have yearly evaluations for running now so your aging body isn't used to it! She took the glass from his hands and sat it on the table careful not to slam it down and break it.

Roy felt depressed at her comment. She was talking as if he were an old man. He wasn't over the hill yet. "I'm not old and I still stay in shape I'll have you know."

"Just because you have abs doesn't mean you are in shape."

Roy smiled. "Oh! So you noticed?"

"Argh!" Sometimes Roy was so frustrating! "Even someone in shape has enough since not to do what you did in this heat unless there was an emergency."

"There was one."

"What was it?"

"You seeing this place," he said.

"You call that an emergency?"

"Yes. You weren't supposed to find out about it yet. I wanted to be here to see your face. It didn't quite dawn on me that you didn't know until the train was about to leave."

"And you thought you could run here faster than I could ride?"

"I thought you might have walked and it would be easier to catch you. I didn't know that you'd find a ride."

"You consider the strangest things emergencies."

She then kissed his cheek. It was rare that she stayed angry with him for very long.

"I was surprised," she said. "Not just over the way the house looks but that the expenses in your account were paying the Bakers."

"Thought I was using it for dates?"

"Yes."

Roy put an arm around her and she wrinkled her nose at his sweaty arm moving around her. As much as she loved being around her husband, the sweat mixed with his cologne and the ever-present aroma of ash smelt hideous. She decided to try to ignore it for now, wanting to finish the conversation.

"I don't remember an expense in your account large enough to cover fixing this place up though."

"Your grandfather paid for it."

"What?" Riza was getting more and more surprises that day.

"When I first started the repairs, before you got out of academy, he came here to visit your parents' graves and asked who was repairing the house. He contacted me and said he'd like to take over the expenses. He wanted to make up for not being around as much as he should for you. We kept conversing back and forth after that. How do you think we connected so quickly? At the time of course, I was shocked that a General was your grandfather."

"So you two have been keeping this a secret all this time. That's amazing."

Roy stretched and Riza cringed again at the smell of sweat wafting towards her. "Do you like that it's fixed up?"

"Yes."

"And you aren't angry that I kept it a secret?"

"No," she said.

"Are you angry about me coming here suddenly?"

"I'm not angry at anything at the moment."

"You seemed a bit preoccupied on the train."

Riza stood. "There are more important things we need to do than talk about that."

"Riza, we aren't supposed to keep things concealed if it regards us. If I did anything then—"

"You didn't. What's bother me doesn't have anything to do with an action you did. You've been nothing but wonderful."

"You sure?"

"Yes, now go shower."

"What?"

"I've been sitting here with your arm around me, tolerating your smell. Go shower." She pulled him to his feet.

"You're saying I stink?"

"Yes I am. She grabbed his bag, handed it to him, and pushed him to the stairs. "I'll have some dinner finished when you get done."

Roy nodded and made his way up the stairs, muttering about his wife saying he reeked. She laughed and went into the kitchen.

(-)

"Okay, am I the only one with feeling incredibly uncomfortable?" Roy said after almost an hour of sleeplessness. He turned from his back to lie on his side so he could look at his wife.

"No, I feel strange too," Riza said. She turned on her right side so she could face him.

They were in trying to rest in the same bedroom where Master Hawkeye used to sleep. Though the room was different in appearance from the way it used to be, it still carried an uneasy aura. Like there was a ghost that was looking over them warning that they shouldn't be sleeping in there.

"I feel like he's going to walk in and find us here," Roy said, "and then barbeque me for touching you."

"He knew you had sex with me before so I don't think it would be that severe."

"Yes, but it wasn't in his bed."

"True. But we are just sleeping."

"In his bed . . . together."

"He's passed and we're married. Besides, it's not like he can come back and punish us right?"

"Right." Silence fell between them for a short moment. "You want to go sleep in another room?" Roy asked.

Riza sat up and nodded quickly. Both got up and scurried out of the bedroom like kids afraid of monsters under their bed.

Soon, they were resting comfortably in Riza's old bedroom. The bed there was narrower but that made it all the more comfortable since they had to cuddle closer. She rested against his chest and he hugged her tightly, their bodies much more relaxed in the pale yellow room.

"That's better," Roy said.

"Very." She closed her eyes and the warmth of his body began to lull her off to sleep. Roy interrupted that lull.

"You know, this is the last night we'll spend together for a while. I don't know how I'm going to get enough sleep without you around."

"You'll learn. I wasn't sleeping with you the past week."

"And I didn't sleep well either," he said.

She leaned up and brushed his chin with her lips. "You'll manage but… Roy, please don't try to drink yourself to sleep. It's so bad for you."

"I promise. I won't even keep a bottle of alcohol at home. Okay?"

She grinned, unsure if Roy would be able to keep such a drastic promise at that but touched that she knew he'd try. "I'll bring you some scotch when I come over on weekends."

"What?"

His bewildered tone amused her. "I know you enjoy scotch," she said. "There are things I wouldn't ask you to give it up. Maes and I were concerned with what you'd do when you drank too much. That's why we asked you to limit your intake so severely."

Roy smiled and nuzzled his nose into her soft hair. "I understand," Roy said.

She reached up to stroke along the edge of the dark circles painted under his eyes. He didn't make any facial expressions indicating whether he liked or disliked the gesture or make any gestures of protest. He just let his eyes study her. She knew she looked horrible but he didn't seem to be in much better condition. She had the benefit of wearing makeup during the day and could hide her emotions. If Roy looked stressed, it displayed in far more ways than just appearance.

When he finally moved, it was to rest his hand on her lower back, under her shirt. A moment later, he began making small circles with his fingers. He'd never done that before and she found it to be thoroughly pleasurable. She kissed his chin yet again and draped her right arm over his side.

"We should sleep now," she said.

Roy gave a grunt of approval but never stilled his hand as it went further up her back. She agitated closer to him even though it did little benefit for they were as close to one another as they could become.

She noticed that he'd opened his mouth to speak but never did. He moved his hand away from her and repositioned himself to lie on his back.

Riza leaned over him and he closed his eyes. "What were you going to say?"

"It's nothing," he replied. "Let's go to sleep."

"No," she said. "I won't be able to sleep if I know you have something on your mind that you want to tell me."

"You're beautiful," he said.

"That's it?" She had a hard time believing that he'd hesitate in telling her that. There was something else going on with him. "There's something more than that."

"It's nothing to worry about. Goodnight." He turned on his side, his back facing her.

"Oh no you don't, you aren't going to avoid me like that." She grabbed his arm and pulled, trying to get him to turn on his back and laughed when she heard him chuckle. "When did you become so strong?" she asked, having a hard time getting him to move. He suddenly pulled forward playfully. Riza fell over him and off the bed. Due to still gripping his arm, when she tumbled off the mattress he fell as well, landing on top of her.

"Ouch," she moaned while a laugh intermingled in her tone.

Roy lifted himself up on one arm and reached behind her head to rub it and feel for a lump. "Are you okay?"

She smiled. "Yeah, I'm great actually." She ran her hands up his to rest on his upper arms and rubbed them.

"It's first time I've noticed."

"That I have arms?"

She pushed him lightly but he remained above her. "That you've gotten stronger."

"Told you I could handle that run."

"Doesn't matter. And I'm still convinced that you still aren't strong enough for pages four-four and fifty-one."

"Yet."

"Yes, yet." She ran her foot along his shin absently while thinking of something else to say instead of what was on her mind. She was sure Roy wouldn't want anything to do with the rifest topic in her head. They'd reacted so badly the last time they tried it.

"Um…" Roy started and Riza stopped her actions, thinking that he wanted her to do such.

"What is it?"

"Would you want . . . I mean do you want to . . . Can I . . ." It surprised her that he was stuttering when he normally was such a smooth talker.

She started to sit up but found Roy's lips working against hers. She rested her head back onto the floor, returning his kiss with equal fervor. He pulled away and ran his tongue along her lips softly before, hesitantly, moving down to kiss her collarbone. He kissed her lips again and rolled over onto his back so she was sitting on top of him. She moved her hands up his chest to grip at his shoulders, and stared down at him with acute curiosity.

A shiver dispersed through her body as he slowly slid his hands up her nightgown to rest on her thighs. They moved hesitantly, as if she was going to jerk them away.

"Do you want . . . You know you don't ever have to ask me for something like that right?"

"I wasn't sure," he said. "I mean with the things that happened part of doing that seems so wrong."

"I know," she said while nodding her head. "I didn't think you wanted to do that because of what happened."

"I really want you. Not just for release or for forgetting. Because I want to know that we're really alive and you're still my wife and I want to make love to you and… damn I don't know how to explain. "

Riza leaned down to kiss his forehead then sat back up. "I understand. I want that too."

The heaviness of the conversation brought forth a succeeding muteness. When she saw a grin appear on Roy's lips, she knew something was going to shatter that heaviness.

"You said I never had to ask. So does that mean I don't have to ask when we are in the offi—"

"That was a one time deal and very risky and foolish of me to do. Sex in the office will never happen again."

"Not even when I'm fuehrer and I have those cushy couches and a large office?"

Riza shook her head. "Especially not when you're fuehrer."

Roy gave a fake sigh. "Oh well."

Riza cupped his face in her hands and leaned down to kiss him. "But we can't make love here." She then moved to stand but he grabbed her waist and pulled her to the floor, crawling on top of her. His lips moved to bite the top of her shoulder gently.

"We should get back into bed f—first." She moaned. "Don't yo… don't… you think." She bit her lip when he licked the spot he was biting.

"I think we are great where we are," he said. "The floors nice and comfortable."

His hands traveled up her nightgown. She shifted and moaned his name as he reached her center.

"We are …. We'll end up getting carpet … burn."

"With all I'm doing to you, you are thinking about carpet burn?" He slipped two fingers inside her, bringing forth a pleasurable whimper as her body welcomed them in a tight embrace.

"Roy," she said, her tone pleading to feel more of him. When his other hand moved to stroke her breast, she arched her back, her breasts pressing harder into his grasp. He took that as his answer to continue.

(-)

Roy heard his neck crack as he moved to lie on his back. He took a deep breath. His lips quirked upward slowly during the exhalation as he remembered what happened the previous night. There was nothing better than making love to his wife. Last night he was able to forget about what was happening in their lives and just focus on her. Just to have her in his arms made him feel like he was holding everything in his grasp. Her gaze as she stared into his own conveyed that she would do her best to be there for him, to try to understand him, and he vowed immediately that he would do the same. Riza didn't deserve anything less than his greatest effort.

Roy opened his eyes and looked to his right, expecting to see Riza sleeping peacefully while nestled in the warm blankets. A small piece of paper resided on the fluffy pillow where her head once rested. He sat up and grabbed it, his mind contemplating if he did something that caused her to leave. He opened the paper and relaxed.

_Gone for a walk. If you wake before I get back, I'll return soon to make some breakfast._

_Love, Riza_

He smiled. The letter was blunt and simple. Just like her.

Roy lay back down and closed his eyes, their brows furrowing when he concentrated on how she'd been acting.

Before they went to bed, she'd seemed a bit off. When he spoke to her, he couldn't help but think she was impelling herself to talk to him when she really wanted to stay silent. When he first showed up, the conversation about the house seemed constrained for the first half of their talk, but then as she ushered him to the shower, she was back to his teasing Riza. Then during dinner, the haled ambiance returned again briefly before fading out after they ate. The feelings around her seemed to come in short spurts every few hours and he had no idea what actuated the switch. He didn't know if it was him bringing it on or just something small that triggered it.

He inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his mouth, trying to relax and stop his mind from wandering too much with unwarranted worries. Without opening his eyes, he reached over and sat the note on the bedside table. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge, shivering as his feet hit the cold floor. A hiss of pain left him as he stood and his knee straightened. He opened his eyes, looked down, and laughed into the morning-drenched room when he saw his skin was red; the telltale signs of a carpet burn. If he got one, then he was very sure his wife had several. She was the one on her back and then her knees: their encounter was very rough and tumble. But it was fun and worth the burns. That was for sure.

He slipped on his bathrobe and took a step, laughing as his entire body also ached the good ache. He hobbled to take a shower to alleviate the pain and then he would make breakfast for Riza.

(-)

The wind scratched at Riza's face as she walked through the cool morning weather on her way to the graveyard. The path there had grown up quite a bit, a testament that the necropolis was rarely used or visited. She wasn't surprised at the tragic condition of the land though; it wasn't exactly the paradigm of a beautiful location when her parents were inhumed there.

She gingerly stepped over the sharp remnants of several liquor bottles in front of the gate. Then she had to step over the long dead gate lying on the ground, its hinges still attached but merely twisted steel.

She walked under a large arch, the cemetery name emblazoned on a faded plaque attached to the top of the metal. The smell of the environment changed to a crisp pungent aroma that could only be associated with the late fall as she steeped past the wrought iron and deeper into the old land. She could smell the oncoming rain heading toward them via the grey storm clouds brooding in the distance.

She navigated through the old paths and walked among the gravestones, in no hurry to make it to her parents' graves before the storm hit. She stopped and looked at some of the more elaborate headstones, the loved ones they left behind taking much care in choosing a stone but not enough care to come and take care of it.

Immediately, she scolded herself for thinking that way. It wasn't as if she was the perfect daughter after all. She didn't come to take care of her parent's graves or hire anyone to take care of them (she doubted her parents would care). Then again, she didn't pick out an elegant tombstone then let their graves go to hell. Everything about their final resting places was simple.

She felt horrible for thinking ill of the other people. She didn't know what was in there hearts. Even when it came to losing said family member. As she began walking again, her mind started pondering the way those people felt as their loved one was buried. What did their hearts feel like when the death itself happened or when they found out? She'd been around enough death in her life but never could grasp the emotions the "others" went through.

Climbing up a small hill, she tensed when she spotted the graves she was heading for in the distance. They were unmistakable even after the years of not being around. They were still surrounded by a one-foot fence of now rusty barbed wire, half of the fence twisted and laying in the dirt. A dying tree was beside the two graves, its barren limbs projecting dotted shadows on the grassless earth.

When she finally arrived at the graves she saw that her father's tombstone was knocked over and her mothers was missing a piece from its right corner, the chunk itself sitting beside the stone. The condition of the graves stirred nothing within her except relief that her past was over. She didn't despise her father, but she didn't exactly love him to the point that a daughter should. She didn't remember her mother well enough to have any strong affection for the woman. The years gone by from her life in that house reduced her parents into faceless figures, like unknown shadows lingering corners of the room. She spent a good deal of her life in the shadows so she was accustomed to them.

That didn't mean that she didn't want to feel affection or mourning for them.

"Why can't I feel anything," she whispered into the air. "I don't miss you and I wish I did." She held out her empty hands towards the graves. "I didn't bring any flowers. I don't think you would have wanted me to bother, but what do I know?"

She stared at the grave, reading the name of first her mother then directing her gaze over to her father's fallen stone. She leaped back when she saw Roy Mustang engraved on the stone instead of Berthold Hawkeye. She closed her eyes tightly, squeezing them as hard as she could, before opening them once more. She cautiously slid her gaze back towards the stone and her father's name was there.

A shuttering sigh of relief left her and she forced her body to slack from its tensed posture. She knew the fear of losing Roy all to well but was it similar to actually losing someone? When he was in danger, she feared losing him but somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew he was going to be okay. What if someday he wasn't? She tried to claw onto the feeling of him not being there but couldn't. It was frustrating and something she needed to try to understand as best she could. Try to be more sensitive and less of a cold bitch.

She knew Roy probably sensed that she still felt a bit tense around him. The night prior to them leaving East City, she'd dreamed about failing Roy. She'd just stared at his dead body while trapped within herself and unable to move. To feel. That was why she came here, to see if seeing her parents graves as an adult would jolt anything.

Trying to talk to Roy about it, he would assure her that he just needed her around and that she didn't have to understand everything. But she wanted to at least empathize a bit. Not only to help him but also to help herself. To grasp a bit more humanity that she felt lacked inside her.

Even though she didn't tell him such, she was glad he followed her. She needed him around more than he'd ever know; even if part of her longed for solitude and banishment from others.

She'd welcomed the closeness they shared last night and was surprised that the love they made wasn't half-hearted. She was expecting it to be similar to the way it was when Maes first passed. The desperate and clawing sex that was just a tool for forgetting the world.

He'd been cautious about asking her, which didn't really surprise. She reassured him that he didn't have to ask for that from her. It was the act itself that surprised her more than his hesitancy to ask. The night was rough but passionate to the point there were times she could barely breathe. When she thought her body was going to give out on her.

He truly took care to give her just as much as he got. Similar to Roy before Maes' death but more adult. More wary of what he was doing. Maes' death had aged him. Not in years, but in thoughts and actions. It brought unease upon her. He hadn't coped; she doubt he ever would. A lingering shot deep in her gut told her that it wasn't over. As long as Maes' murderer was still out there, it would always be the premier issue on Roy's mind: not her, not their marriage, and not his goals. She'd have to keep him on track and stop him from taking revenge when the murderer was found. If Roy killed the person that killed Maes, then… well, he would cease to be him. Nothing terrified her more than to have Roy in body but not this soul or that spirit and zest that made her fall in love with him.

(-)

A very pleasant smell drifted to her as she opened the door to the house and entered. After hanging up her coat, she made her way into the kitchen and stood at the door, trying not to laugh at the scene before her. Roy was cracking eggs in a bowl and stirring them, ordinary actions if it hadn't been that he was singing slightly and moving to the beat playing over the small radio nearby.

She placed her hand over her mouth to try to stave off the giggle but to no avail as it left her mouth. He turned around and grinned at her before placing the bowl down on the counter and grabbing her. She was bewildered at his actions as he pulled her against him, took her hand, and danced her around the kitchen. She couldn't help but let a smile form against her lips and rested her head as he moved with her.

"What's wrong with you today?" she asked.

"Wrong?"

"This is unlike you, you seem overly happy. Was the sex that great?"

Roy pulled away and clicked off the radio. "You certainly are a mood killer," he said.

"Sorry," she said, "its just I've never seen you like that before. I mean I have but not since Maes died."

"You told me I couldn't be depressed forever right?" he asked, going back over to pick up the bowl with the eggs in it.

Riza nodded even though he wasn't looking at her. "Yes, I did but you don't have to force being happy." She felt horrible for saying that but figured the truth needed to come out.

"I am happy," he said while pouring the eggs into the skillet. "Not about Maes being gone of course, but I am about spending time alone with you where we don't have to worry as much about being caught."

Riza walked behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her heads on his back. "I love spending time like this with you but please even though you are happy at the moment, whenever you aren't, don't hide from me. Okay." She felt like a hypocrite for saying that when she herself was hiding her feelings from him.

Roy smiled gently. Riza could almost always identify his moods. But he truly was in a wonderful mood, yet her concern seemed to keep her from feeling the same. He lifted the skillet off the heating element and scooped the eggs in the plates beside the stove. After sitting down the skillet and turning off the heat. He turned and bent to kiss her. He made sure to let it linger slowly and sensually, communicating that everything would be okay with the melding of their lips.

Even though he wasn't sure.

* * *

**AN: Decided to post the chapter early since I'll be pretty busy next week. Hope you enjoyed it! Please review if you have the time and good luck to those that may be having some exams this week. **


	75. Enclosed

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Proofreader: TheDarkSpirit (my Miyu) **

**Beta's: Marxus Krieg, Dark Secret Keeper (Though they didn't do this particular chapter XD)**

**Chapter 75: ****Enclosed Pt: 1**

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to FMA just my story plots. **

**AN: Please read the AN at the bottom of the page after you finish the fic. **

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**Enclosed Pt: 1**

There was a plethora of words that could single-handedly describe the past month after they started working at Central Headquarters. Tedious, annoying, monotonous, confusing, stressful were just a few. In fact, Roy was sure that if he put forth enough effort, he could relate at least 90 percent of the words in a thesaurus to just the week so far. But he had no time for that.

The former commander of this office, General Basque Grand, apparently worked as little as possible on "menial" tasks such as paperwork. Actually, he did jack shit in regards to that type of work . Roy voiced that fact using those exact words when the third stack of backlogged paperwork arrived on his desk. The scolding he expected from Riza never came; he used the dark circles under her eyes and her overall body language to infer her agreement.

She walked over to her desk, sat down and began going through the stacks of papers. She was just as annoyed as Roy at Grand's lack of responsibility.

"I thought you finished all your work," he said.

"I did. I was lucky that the officer before me did his job very efficiently."

"So what are you working on?"

"This is your work. I figured there's bound to be something I could do to alleviate your workload."

"You are an angel."

She laughed and went back to her task at hand.

Roy's lips moved into a frown. "Do we have to come in tomorrow too?" Roy asked, and then ran his eyes along the lines printed on the form in his hand. "This is expired." He placed the paper on the upper left side of his desk.

"Yes Sir."

"I despise working on Saturdays. That bastard that worked in this office before us should be made to come back and do this stuff."

"He can't come back from the dead Sir."

"If hell exists then I hope he's on a splint, roasting over hot coals with little devils waiting to eat him."

Riza glanced at him and her lips quirked upward for a moment before she formed them back into a neutral line. "That was a horrible thing to say Sir."

Roy looked at her. "You laughed."

"I didn't laugh."

"You did inwardly," he said.

Riza shrugged her shoulders and nodded. "Yeah, I did."

"How's your apartment?" Roy asked. He wanted to impede the potential dreariness that was going to overtake them if the conversation lulled. "You get settled in?"

"When would I have time to get settled in?"

"Yes, you're right."

After a few more shuffling of papers, he spoke again. "It's been a hard week. Really tiring."

"Yes."

Roy exhaled loudly. She certainly wasn't making it easy to converse with her. He grumbled and put yet another paper to his left, the pile of expired forms growing increasingly taller. "Even at home I can't slack any. I haven't been able to relax this entire month."

"Me either."

"Oh?"

"Too quiet."

Roy looked over at her and grinned slimly when he saw the slightest smile adorn her lips. She understood exactly what he was saying to her without obvious words. That's was one of many things that made their relationship special. It was difficult to live apart from her after living so close for so long. He was already questioning, for what seemed like the thousandth time, whether it really was best for them to live apart. Thanks to the busy weekends this month, they couldn't spend time together for a single day. If they lived close, they could sleep or at least relax a bit with a minified risk.

"We are almost done," she said. "I only saw one more box and it was only half full. I don't know how he got away with ignoring all of this though. It just doesn't make sense."

"It's probably strongly related to the bureaucratic shit that goes on. Nothing has to make sense anymore as long as the important people get whatever the hell they want."

"And that's one of the many thing things you're going to change, yes?"

Roy nodded. "So, not this weekend, but how about next? You up for visiting me?"

"We have to go to Ishbal," she said.

"Huh?"

She looked up from her work and in his direction, looking surprised at Roy's cluelessness. "The order to attend the anniversary of the Ishbalian war. It's next Friday through Sunday."

"I didn't get an order for anything like that."

Riza opened her middle desk drawer and removed an envelope. "It's about as pointless as the massacre was in the first place." She stood and walked over to Roy. He took the letter gingerly and opened it as if a deadly animal was going to spring forth and bite him. He let the envelope fall to his lap and opened the folded piece of paper in his grasp. His face contorted in displeasure as he ran his eyes over the wording in the official letter and wrinkled his nose as his gaze hit the fuehrer's seal. "No, I didn't get one of these."

Roy looked up at her. "Pretend you are sick. That work got too much for you."

"I can't do that. If I didn't show up it could be used as a strike against you. You know one of those idiots on the fuehrer's council would use that to his advantage. We can't risk that. It's just a few days. I can handle it."

"I don't want you to go there so forget about it."

"You aren't thinking clearly. If you were then you'd realize that-"

"I'm thinking perfectly clear. It's bad enough that we've fought like cats and dogs the past month. Then we rarely see each other after we make up, which can't be good for our marriage, and now you want to worry me to death by going to Ishbal for no reason." Roy shoved the letter back into the envelope.

"There is a reason." She sighed. "Just not a good one. You are thinking with your heart and not your common sense."

"I'm thinking with both."

"No, you aren't." Riza placed her hands on his shoulders and pulled him near her, letting his head rest against her stomach. She slowly ran her fingers through his hair. It wasn't a proper gesture considering their location but it was late, limited people were still in HQ, and the office door was locked. "I'm a soldier as well as your wife. I'm your aid and I have a duty to help get you to the top. I have to go where they order me otherwise it will be suspicious."

Roy pulled away. "You are acting like you want to go!"

Riza grabbed the letter from him. "Of course I don't but for the love of God don't be so damned stupid! I can't do my job if you are trying to protect me all the time. I have to help you get to the top and I will do what it takes to do it. I'm not going to go and get killed like Maes!" Riza really wasn't sure of that of course; she could be killed at anytime.

Roy glared at her. "Fine, go, see if I care what happens," he muttered and turned back to his work

Riza knew he didn't mean what he said so she merely nodded and went back over to get to work. "If I'd known that you hadn't gotten an order I never would have mentioned it," she muttered.

Roy heard her and slammed down his pen. "So you would have sprung that on me like you did your visit to your hometown? Like you've surprised me through the years."

"Why do you have to start an argument?"

"Why do you always give me reason to do it?"

"Like you aren't still keeping things from me?"

"Don't try to switch things back onto me Riz— Hawkeye."

"Let's just drop it. I'm too tired to argue," she said, her voice more annoyed and exhausted than angry.

"Fine," Roy said. He grabbed his pen and began winnowing through the paperwork again.

Riza watched him for a while and felt guilty for making him angry. She knew most of his outbursts were her fault. She was bad at sharing things with him and lately had been saying the wrong things. Roy's temper was on edge as well which made their relationship more volatile than usual. If she coupled that with the workload and the lack of spending time together, it made them less than affable when they were alone in the office.

When Roy finished the stack of papers, he stood. "Let's get out of here. It's an hour past quitting time. We've worked late enough this week." He walked over to the door and grabbed his coat from the hanger in the closet.

"Yes Sir." Though she knew it would be more beneficial to stay another hour, she didn't think she could take the tension in the office between them. And especially not when her energy felt so depleted. She slipped on her coat—that she'd draped over the back of her chair—and grabbed her purse. She walked to the door and started to open it but Roy placed his hand on her wrist.

"Lots of fights," he said simply. His voice was altogether calm in contrast with his previous tone.

"Arguments, not fights. Fights come to blows," she said, her voice every bit as steadied as his.

Roy leaned forward and kissed her, then turned and pushed her body against the door. There was no hesitation on her part as she eagerly returned his affection. It seemed like forever since she last felt his lips brushing on hers. The kiss immediately shattered the tension that had built between them. His hands took up residence on her hips as his lips journeyed to her neck, then her ear. When she groaned, she suddenly realized where they were and what they were doing would have to stop.

Though she loathed doing so, she placed her hand on his chest and pushed him away from her. "We can't do that in the office."

Roy opened his mouth to argue but closed it before any words emerged. She was right. "I can't wait to make love to you again." He leaned forward and whispered a few words in her ear that caused her face to redden.

She quickly turned and opened the door, leaving the office. The way she acted told Roy that she'd read the book she "borrowed" from him. He locked his office door, shut it, and saw she was already at the elevator down the hall.

He paced quickly to reach the elevator before it opened. Right when he arrived, the bell on the lift rang and the doors unfolded. Riza stepped inside and he followed. When the door closed, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "I know it's late but I've been meaning to do something important. Will you come with me?"

Riza looked at him from the corner of her eyes. "Where do you want to go?"

"Maes' grave. I haven't visited it since we got here."

She almost said no but upon hearing the pain still in his tone, she found herself nodding. She didn't want to visit the grave but at the same time, she didn't want to let Roy down either. If he needed her there then she should go no matter how she felt. It was as simple as that and time to stop being so selfish. "Yes, I'll go with you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

**-0-0-**

The temperature seemed to grow increasingly colder the closer they came to the cemetery. As soon as they crossed through large gates at the front of the graveyard, a unassailable shiver sliced through her. She pulled her coat tighter and brought her focus onto the large bouquet of lilies in Roy's grip. He was grasping them a bit tighter than necessary, the action made evident from the wrinkling paper that wrapped the stems.

When they ascended the hill, they saw Gracia and Elecia standing at the tombstone. The setting sun in the sky cast a mournful radiance upon the widow. The tombstone's shadow directed largely over the ground and smothered Elecia in a Maes' engraved, shadowy embrace.

"Gracia," Roy said, picking up his pace. Riza stopped a few feet back and buttoned her coat to distract herself from the awkward environment she suddenly walked near. If she stayed quiet, maybe she could prevent herself from stumbling into the situation.

The woman turned to him and smiled. "Roy, when did you get here in Central?"

"A month ago. I'm sorry I haven't talked with you since the funeral. Things have been hectic to say the least."

Elecia tugged at his coat and he smiled down at her. After sitting the bouquet onto the stone in front of the grave, he picked her up. "How ya doing kiddo."

She hugged Roy. "I'm okay. I miss Daddy but he's watching me and Mommy so it's okay sometimes."

"Yeah, and he's probably taking pictures too." Roy directed his gaze to Gracia. "How are you holding up?"

Riza slowly backed away, knowing she didn't belong anywhere near the conversation. She'd go home, take a good hot shower, and go to bed. Roy would probably want to escort the two home anyway and she didn't relish going on that trip. She turned and left the graveyard and the three alone. She felt like a soldier deserting the battlefield.

"You and Riza should come over to dinner. It would be nice to spend some time with you two."

"Yeah, we'll do that, does that sound good Ri—" Roy jerked away the end of her name when he turned and saw his wife was no longer standing there. He saw her form leave the graveyard gate and turn up the street.

"Was that Riza?"

"Yes. I don't know why she left without at least saying hello to you two."

"You said things were hectic, perhaps she was really tired." Gracia smiled the same mischievous smile that her husband carried in life. "Why don't you go relax her Roy?"

Roy turned his head toward the woman and for a moment saw his best friend standing there instead. Roy sighed and shook his head.

Gracia's smile fell from her lips. "Trouble?"

"A little."

"Roy, if any of the trouble in your relationship is stemming from Maes' death then it needs to stop right now."

"It was at first but we talked about that and made up. There's something else that she won't share with me that's bothering her."

Gracia smiled softly and turned to the grave. "When Maes noticed something was bothering me, he always tried to figure out what it was and fix it. But there are some things that you have to fix on your own." She looked over at him. "So you end up hiding your feelings so that you can have that to yourself. I relate that to the way Riza felt during Maes' death. I saw it. She didn't know how to act towards you or me."

"I see," he said. Riza did mention feeling as if she couldn't understand him but he thought they settled that back at her house. She didn't need to understand those feelings as long as she was with him. He'd told her that numerous times but maybe it wasn't enough for her. She tended to think of herself sparingly and in turn that made him worry. Then she'd end up worrying about worrying him. She always pretended that she was doing something she felt was good for her, but ultimately it always related to him or his goals.

"To be honest, she looked the most helpless I've ever seen her. Usually she's very composed but she wasn't in as much control that day."

"You noticed that with everything that happened?"

"Yes, it was hard not to notice."

"I'm her husband. I should have but didn't."

"She hides it well. If I didn't do the same things as her I might not have saw it."

That didn't ease the failure and guilt that Roy felt. Gracia, the person that was the most devastated out of anyone over Maes' death, observed an emotion in his wife that he didn't. He should have detected it first but at the time his head was shoved so far up his own ass he was wearing his ass cheeks for blinders. He thought everything was settled concerning the incident with Riza but he was clearly wrong. There was still a heavy cloud that separated them and, as Gracia said earlier, perhaps Riza needed to vanquish part of that cloud herself. While she did so, he'd be sure to be as supportive as he could and dissolve his own side so he could reach her again.

**-0-0-**

The phone's shrill ring crashed through the silence in the apartment just as Riza finished packing her suitcase for her "trip" to Ishbal. She walked into the hallway and picked up the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Is this Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye?"

"Yes it is," she said.

"Code please?" he asked.

Riza rolled her eyes, thankful that the higher officer couldn't see her through the phone. "4254B62"

"Approved. This is Major Matt Candara from the fuehrer's personal security team. Your orders regarding the Ishbalian war anniversary have been altered."

"Altered Sir?" Riza asked. She had a hope that he'd tell her she didn't have to go, but she wasn't that lucky.

"Yes, report to the train station at 0700 tomorrow with your sniping equipment on your person. You are being assigned temporarily as one of the bodyguards that will oversee the fuehrer's protection."

Riza put her free hand behind her back to keep from grabbing something to throw. She forced herself to relax and tried to calm her temper. It was bad enough that she had to go to Ishbal, which was basically ruins, but now she had to protect that bastard. However, if she did this it might be a good subterfuge for Roy as well. Surely, a subordinate that was seemingly loyal to the fuehrer would report any commanding officer that wasn't. She would look at this as being a positive experience. Well, she'd try at least.

"It would be my honor Sir," she said, keeping her voice firm and formal even though her insides were slowly filling with a burning apprehensiveness.

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**AN: I got a wonderful gift from some friends of mine and apparently all of you were in on it. I'm truly surprised someone didn't contact me and spoil the surprise. I've been going through a lot lately in my personal life and was truly feeling down in the dumps with some bad issues. When you're already feeling weak it doesn't take a very strong wind to knock you over. **

**My dear friend Miyu gives me this video and it's a BKS ending. I knew he was doing an ending but had no clue what was going to come at the end of said ending. It concluded with a ton of my reader's names and a thank you message. You have no idea how much this cheered me up when I actually felt like giving up on every single thing. It literally made me cry. **

**I've loved to write since I was a little girl and to know you all enjoy it to the point you'd allow your names on that really brings me a sense that I can get through not only my insecurities about writing but my insecurities about all other issues that are attacking me right and left. **

**So I sincerely from the bottom of my heart thank you so much for the support and kind words, and advice you've all given me through the years working on this. This story is long from being over and I hope you enjoy the future chapters. **

**I love you guys so much. **

**And Riri, Miyu, OTP, Mals, I love you guys more than words. Don't know what I'd do without you.  
**

**If you want to see the video, the link is on my profile.  
**


	76. Cracked

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Betaed by: Marxus Krieg **

**Chapter 76: Cracked**

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of the characters in the anime/manga Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. I do own my idea. **

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**Cracked  
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"I got more paperwork for the Colonel," Fuery said as he walked into the front office. He carried a large stack of papers in his hands. He had to perform a precarious balancing act with them as they moved right, then left, with every step he took.

"That's the third stack in an hour," Breda said.

"This is Central," Falman said. "This is the amount of work we should expect."

Havoc stood and opened the door to Roy's inner office for the master sergeant.

"Thank you Sir."

Havoc inclined his head to the young man and took the opportunity to peer into the office. Roy focused on his work; reading and signing the documents as if possessed. He wasn't' sure if he noticed Fuery until the Colonel pointed to a small table beside his desk with the tip of his pen and spoke, "Sit them there."

"Yes Sir."

Roy directed his pen in the direction of another table, its top adorned with three giant stacks of forms and folders. "Take all those to personnel, weapons, and the auditors' offices please."

"Yes Sir."

"Falman!" Roy yelled. "Come help Fuery." Roy did all of this without a glance at the soldiers around him.

After Falman and Fuery left the room, Havoc closed the door for them, leaving Roy alone to work.

"And I thought the Lieutenant had it tough at Eastern Command Center. What she does here is ten times as difficult," Fuery said before he exited the office with Falman.

"Wonder why he's working so hard." Breda sighed with relief as he completed his heap of paperwork, only to grumble when Havoc pushed more in his direction.

Havoc leaned back in his chair and lit his cigarette with a lighter he retrieved from his desk drawer. "What do you mean?"

"With the Lieutenant gone he usually procrastinates to the last minute. Then he does a rush job on the forms and makes it in just under the deadline."

"That's nothing new. He does that when the Lieutenant's here too."

"Okay, I know logic never was your strong point but think. If he's not doing that when she's not here to threaten him, then there is definitely something wrong."

"It's probably because he's in Central now." If Breda knew what he knew, he'd have no questions as to why the Colonel acted in this atypical way. "Remember, he did say we all had to work harder."

"Yeah, I suppose you are right but there's something that nags me about his sudden hard work. There's more to it than the fact we are in Central."

"Oh? What's your theory?"

"I think he misses the Lieutenant." Breda frowned. "No, scratch that. I am one-hundred percent confident he misses the Lieutenant. This is the first time she's been away from the office so long. Since I've worked under him, she's always kept him on his toes. I think he likes that in some masochistic way."

"Well wouldn't you like a beautiful woman to keep you alert to the things around you?"

Breda chuckled. "Yes, I suppose I would. I think without having her around to chafe he's just doing his work to keep occupied."

Havoc scrubbed his cigarette into the ashtray and straightened his posture. He was impressed with Breda's reasoning. "Could be. Regardless of what's making him work, let's be thankful we don't have to pick up his slack." Havoc picked up his pen and put a form in front of him. "I don't want to be on the end of Hawkeye's rage if the office is behind when she gets back."

**/=/=/=/=/=/**

"Good point."

_ Concentrate on your paperwork Mustang. There's just a day to go and you haven't heard about her getting hurt or any other incident regarding that Ishbal event. Everything will be fine, right?_

_Right. _

_ That's not what you are worried about though. Is it? Not what might happen. Riza is perfectly capable of taking care of herself in those situations. Even better than you are as a matter of fact. _

_ I know. _

_ It's not even stray Ishbalians or other people that you are worried about is it." _

_ No._

_You are worried about her innards aren't you?_

_ Roy's eyebrows furrowed. That's a weird way of putting it. _

_ Okay, mentally. You are worried about her mentally. _

"Well that's pretty damned apparent otherwise I wouldn't be mentally conversing with myself like a moron," Mustang said aloud. He threw down his pen and leaned back in his chair. Using the tip of his boot, he pushed against the desk and turned his chair to face the window, stopping with a firm foot to the floor when he got to the position he desired.

In the days leading up to Riza's departure, they didn't talk much. Every time he brought up a subject other than work, she'd change the subject back to a professional topic. She wouldn't mention Ishbal, where she was staying in the nearby town, or any further details that she received regarding the event. It looked as if their personal relationship was fading into a lull of professionalism; the last thing he wanted after they'd gone through so much.

He thought back to the words she spoke when she first told him of the Ishbal Celebration and maybe she was right. Maybe he was being too clingy to her. Too protective. They married extremely young even by current societal standards and she never had a relationship with anyone else. Perhaps she wanted to figure herself out just as Gracia suggested. Possibly date someone to find out of he was the one for her.

Roy shook his head. No. If she wanted that, she would have said as much after a while. He considered the possibility that she kept silent because she didn't want to hurt him but instantly struck down the thought in a matter of seconds. She told him several times that she didn't want to break up.

He nodded resolutely and turned his chair to face his desk. It was normal for a husband to worry about his wife. Especially when she was alone in a volatile region that would only add to her mental woes. He couldn't think of anyone that took that massacre worse than Riza yet showed such a limited emotional reaction. He never saw her cry over what happened there and when he tried to get her to talk about her experiences, she said it was something she needed to solve on her own.

Every path always routed back to her coping on her own. What good was he as a commanding officer? More importantly, what good was he as her husband? He resisted the urge to throw something across the room. He felt so useless.

**/=/=/=/=/=/**

After three days of watching the ceremonies through the scope on her rifle, Riza counted herself lucky compared to the soldiers on the ground. Darkness enshrouded her like a thick blanket and she was positioned high enough that the rare desert wind skimmed across her periodically, assuaging her body from the hot temperature. She felt a sadistic form of amusement as she watched some of the men on the ground. The sun held nothing back as it assailed them with inexorable strength, sanctioning them for returning to the sulfurous desert hell.

The temperature when in direct sunlight always felt a good 10 to 20 degrees hotter than it actually was and she felt a diabolical yet satisfying tinge of amusement as she scanned each officer with the fuehrer. Their collars were darker than the rest of the uniform due to streams of sweat pouring down their faces and necks. A look of abject excruciation replaced their normally pietistic expressions. If they truly deserved their positions, they'd be able to endure the environment just as the soldiers gathered on the ground below them. They wouldn't take their lovely cotton handkerchiefs out to wipe away sweat or drink the water that some unidentified, dispensable aide brought them.

Those uniform clad peons only stayed there because their great fuehrer ordered it. Wasting funds on a worthless ceremony. Money that should have gone to the Ishbalians left alive after the atrocities committed against them (though she doubted they gave a shit about monetary enhancements to their lives). Nothing could replace the loved ones they lost and the horrors they'd undergone.

She shook the vision of the Ishbalians from her mind and directed her scope back onto the fuehrer. Then she felt like someone punched her in the gut. He stood directly under the sun as he gave his speech, yet no sweat beaded upon his face. His skin remained the same brown shade as when indoors, a vividly stark contrast to the heat-crimsoned skin of the men around him. He showed no signs of discomfort anywhere on his person. She could chalk it up to good acting, but as much as she wanted to make herself believe that, a nagging in the back of her mind prevented her from doing such.

Something was off with him. She'd known it since the way he looked and spoke to her at Eastern HQ. Now, the grinding suspicion that rested with her intensified so much that it vanished the doubt she carried in regards to his abnormality. The more she studied him, the more it made sense. He wasn't . . . human.

Riza huffed and shook her head. That had to be the most ridiculous notion ever to cross her mind. But it wasn't crossing her mind. It was seared in its spot and hiding ever so surreptitiously underneath the various strata of her psyche. The logical part of her brain could explain away the fact he didn't sweat and attribute it to a bodily problem but it couldn't explain why she actually felt physically sick when she saw him. Nor could it reason away the fact her flesh felt like small needles were piercing it whenever she was in his presence.

Even her back, which was normally void of pain, grew hot. Streams of ache would shoot around the undamaged parts of her tattoo from each side, racing to meet one another in a giant explosion of fire. Even near her worst enemies, that never happened. No, that's not exactly true. As far as she was concerned, he was her worst enemy.

Her trigger finger ached and shuttered for a second. It would be so easy to slam a bullet into his skull, but a reverberating line spoken in her head told her it would be futile. Besides, even if it did kill him, they'd put her on trial for murder and Roy would probably be so upset he'd never make fuehrer. The thought of killing Bradley was just one of many dumb thoughts she possessed recently.

She returned her focus back onto the event below, the straight, by the book, sniper side of her cursing her for losing focus. However brief the period was, it only took one moment for a gun to fire or for someone to swoop into an attack. Thankfully, there were other snipers positioned out there besides herself an—

Shots slammed into the air like small cracks of thunder and Riza's body tightened. She scanned the crowd with breakneck speed and then pulled the trigger.

The man running toward the fuehrer collapsed and fell backward, off the high platform where the officers were sitting. She could almost hear the way his spine cracked as it hit the large brown stone.

She cursed such a string of profanities that the most hardened, battled ravaged soldier would collapse under their weight. Where in the hell were the other bodyguards? Were the fuehrer's personal guards seriously that incompetent? And why did the other goddamned snipers miss him? A kindergartener with a pellet gun could have made the shot!

"Fuck," she muttered and trailed her scope back to the top of the platform. When the higher-ups were out of view, she maneuvered her focus to the man she shot. She swallowed, the action producing a lump in her throat rather than relieving her tension.

The man was Ishbalian. Using the dark skin and chiseled face as evidence of his nationality could prove her wrong but there was no doubt when looking into his eyes. He possessed those dark, deep, red eyes that tried to grasp, claw, and haunt her every single day of her life since the massacre. His eyes stared into the sun-vanquished sky, shrilling in a gaze-conveying agony.

If he could still render a thought process, she vividly imagined what it would be.

So close. So close to killing the mongrel that ordered the extermination of his people. The murderer who shot me prevented what little freedom my people could have. With Bradley dead, things could have been better. Little murderer was following orders just like a good little puppet soldier.

Murderer, Murderer, Murderer.

Riza looked away from the body as two men came to dispose of it. Likely, they would just throw it in the desert where vultures devoured it for their meals, or covered by one of the many sandstorms that washed over the arid land. Treatment like that wasn't what that man deserved.

She saw his justification. Who in their right mind wouldn't? However, she couldn't justify her own actions. Yes, she killed him to protect the fuehrer but Bradley was the one that ordered her to kill the Ishbalian people. She'd even thought for a moment to kill Bradley before he came. She should have let him try at the very least. Why didn't she? Were her damn reflexes and training so good that it came down to the matter of shoot first and ask questions later?"

She shook her head and, though not ordered to stand down yet, lowered her gun from its position. She didn't care what else happened to her right now or if she was reprimanded for being caught in such form.

She lowered her forehead until it met against the sandy stone under her body. She released a shuddering breath and then inhaled. She sucked in her stomach as tight as it would go and folded her shoulders blades back until they almost touched as she attempted to relieve her body of the tenseness bearing down on her like weights. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing her mental shields that carefully guarded her thoughts to stay constructed. She could feel her barriers rattling and snapping and breaking the more her torments hammered into them. She could feel it in the way her pulse increased and layers of sweat coated her palms and the back of her neck as the wind chilled and made her grow cold. Her bones cracked as he readjusted her body. She drove her fingers into the harsh dirt breaking off a few nails with the action, drawing blood and pain.

_No Riza! Don't let them break! Don't let them! Don't!_

Why'd she have to kill them? She could have chosen to throw down her gun or ignore the Ishbalians she saw. She could have let them prosecute her for treason, or she could have faked mental instability. But she didn't.

_You had so many roads you could have traveled! Why take that one! Why'd you kill people that weren't harming anyone! Why! _

She couldn't make the excuse that she was protecting Roy's goal since he hadn't made that decision yet and she wasn't stupid enough to think that killing those people would make the world a better place.

_So why'd you do it? _

She slammed her fist against the ground. "I don't know!" she said as if someone was physically torturing her for information. "I . . . I don't know!"

No! No! No! No! No! She had to keep it together. Beginning deep breaths, she welcomed the distraction of the scratching sand sucking into her throat. As her hands gripped into the dirty, mentally she was grasping for anything to secure her shields. Some mental glue, or fire to bur— No not fire. No. Fire harked back to Roy's mistakes too. Mistakes that she rested on her back, however scarred the source was.

Roy. During the war, she kept his dream in a special place within her heart. With one pull of the trigger, she tainted that dream. With one snap of his fingers, he … betrayed . . . her? No, he betrayed himself. He committed the same atrocious actions she had. She had no right to point fingers! What kind of wife was she?

Numb to it. She was supposed to be numb! As she participated in the war, she'd felt nothing for the individuals she'd shot at. The growing jadedness was terrifying but at the same time comforting in its denial. When it came forth in the form of nightmares after the war, her body subconscious barricaded it behind the barrier in her head so that when Roy woke from his, she was a pillar of strength for him.

She always had to be there for him! Forget about herself! Forget about the Ishbalians corpses she shot and saw lying in the sun. Their flesh increasingly rotting and stinking with every passing day.

"Fuck!" she pushed herself off the ground, letting her gun falter and hit the dirt as she moved to rest against a stone pillar that propped up the roof. She pulled the hood on her cloak further over her face and leaned her head back. She breathed even deeper forcing as much air as she could into and out of her body to keep herself from hyperventilating. She shivered in the heat and pulled her cloak tighter around her. She focused on the way her throat scratched, the way he nails burned and ached steadily. Anything to get her mind to block out the dead Ishbalians faces that were forming in her memories like bodiless zombies. Anything to block out the death that hung like a grievous curtain over her head.

Her eyes widened and she let her arms fall to her sides. Block out death?

_Block it out?_


	77. Cracked Rain

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Betaed by: Marxus Krieg**

**Chapter 77: Cracked Rain **

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA and gain no profit from this fanfiction. **

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**Cracked Rain**

As soon as Havoc walked into the office, a sense of wrongness filled the air. Roy had long grown accustomed to having the ability to read his subordinates and Havoc's overall posture spoke of a burdening issue. It fit with the nagging, weak feeling that'd been dwelling in his stomach for the day. When the blond looked into Roy's obsidian eyes, his nerves immediately prompted his heart to accelerate at the proper speed of panic.

"What in the hell is wrong?"

Havoc's face told of surprise for an instant before thinning out into a serious expression. "Um . . . well. . ."

"Havoc, just get to it."

"A stray Ishbalian tried to kill the fuehrer." Havoc's voice took on a tinge of anxiety, so small a nuance that only a friend would be able to detect it.

Roy relaxed. He didn't care if someone tried to kill Bradley and was confused as to why Havoc was so tense about it. Havoc liked Bradley as much as he liked being dumped by women. "And why do you think I would care about that?" Roy asked as he stood and walked over to get his coat out of the closet.

"A sniper killed the Ishbalian."

Roy turned to Havoc; his body felt like it was in slow motion. He knew what Havoc was implying and there was no need to question the man further. A disbelieving smile crossed his lips as he shook his head. "She didn't go there as a sniper."

"She was reassigned as a temporary sniper there. One of the fuehrer's regular guards was injured in an accident."

"Why didn't she tell me that?"

"She didn't?"

Roy shook his head and slipped on his coat. "No," he said, "she didn't."

"Well maybe she just didn't want to worry you anymore than what you already were."

Roy jerked his scarf off the shelf in the closet. "Not a good enough excuse."

"She came back into town this afternoon," Havoc said. Roy looked at him questioningly and he explained. "I asked Fuery to listen in on the private communication lines when I heard about what she did. To find out what time they arrived in Central."

"Why didn't you tell me this when you first found out!"

"Because she'd shoot you if you took off work to go see her. And she probably needed some rest."

Roy muttered about how Havoc was right and went to the door. "I'm going to go talk to her."

"Chief, you should probably calm down first."

Roy glared at him. "I am calm!" he said and followed his words with an intense growl.

"Yes and the fact you just growled at me like an animal backs that statement up really well."

Roy sighed and then nodded. "I'll go back to my place first. I have to get a disguise anyway," he said. "I can't let this slide. I've carried a foreboding feeling with me all day and I knew it had something to do with her."

"People really connect like that?"

"We do."

**-/-/-/-/-/-**

Roy adjusted the brown wig on his head before he arrived in Riza's neighborhood. It surprised him that she chose to move so far away from headquarters, in such an impractical area. When he saw the address she'd scribbled on one of his notepads, he thought it was within a short walking distance of downtown.

The streets were as quiet as a graveyard at midnight; an oddity considering it was so early in the evening. It was as if the entire neighborhood was fading into a ghost town. It was likely why she chose such a place to live. It was unimpressive, scantly populated, and a location many military personnel would avoid setting up house. By living here, she didn't have to worry about what someone would think if she did something unbefitting a military officer. That would also explain why she chose to change out of uniform before going home.

The inside of her apartment building was lowbrow and matched the district itself. The lobby was painted various shades of brown ranging from chestnut to sand. The walls were void of pictures; there were no chairs, no plants, just a rickety old elevator in the middle of the opposite wall.

He stared at the lift and, after deeming it unworthy of travel, took the stairs up to her floor. He walked down the hallway, taking in each apartment number until he came to Riza's place. After knocking several times, and greeted only by Hayate's barking, he opened the door with the spare key she gave him. As soon as he passed the doorway, Hayate leaped on him then whined. It was odd that she went anywhere without her canine companion. He'd become like her shadow since she took ownership of the dog.

"Riza, you here?"

No answer.

He walked through the apartment, barely able to navigate through the unpacked boxes and crates situated throughout the residence. He peaked into the bedroom and saw her knapsack on the left side of the bed, still full, and her rifle case on the floor at its foot. The covers were in disarray, as if she'd tossed and turned during a restless sleep.

He looked into her bathroom and after seeing she wasn't there, went back to the front door. "Hayate, do you know where she went?"

Hayate lay down at the door and whimpered. Roy didn't like that sign at all. Hayate was incredibly in tune to Riza and her moods.

"I'll find her boy," Roy said.

When Roy exited the building and began his walk out of the district, he realized he had a problem. He didn't even know where to begin looking for his wife. "Shit." He took a deep breath and forced his mind to focus through the haze of worry within his head. It wasn't as if Riza would wander all around the city. She'd likely stay around this vicinity or around headquarters. She wasn't one to go of to unknown places without telling someone. She wasn't that inconsiderate or stupid.

He had to put himself in her shoes. If he were Riza and just got back from Ishbal, where would he go? Roy frowned and wrinkled his nose. He'd go to bed and she's already done that. Or a bar. But Riza didn't drink. He centered her interests. She liked to read but the libraries were closed by now. Shooting? Yeah, the range was open until midnight. She would be there.

When he got an optimum distance away from her apartment building, he stopped and went into an alley. Even though the neighborhood was still as quiet and idle as when he entered Riza's apartment building, it was better to be safe than sorry. He took off his hat, removed the wig, and shoved the hairpiece in his pocket. After placing the hat back on his head, he peeled off the beard he donned as well and let it join its disguise companion.

He scratched his face and the back of his neck as he headed out of the alley and towards the range.

**-/-/-/-/-/-**

Riza was rational enough to never believe the dead could return to haunt the living. At least, not in the literal meaning of ghost. However, she did believe in mental haunting and perhaps ghosts were just that. Mental hauntings that only appeared to be real and seen by more than one person that had similar life experiences.

She kneeled, laid a bouquet of flowers atop Maes' grave, and straightened. After taking a full minute to process her words and study the tombstone in front of her, she spoke, "Are you trying to talk to me from the beyond?" It sounded silly, but with her recent dreams anyone would come to the same conclusion. It was so vivid and Maes seemed so real, so alive, as he showed her Ishbal during the war via the ground instead of her place in the tower. When she woke up, she smelled rotten corpses and gunpowder. The whiff of powder made sense considering it was permanently in her scent, but she was sure there weren't any rotting corpses in her apartment.

She chuckled. Then again, she did live in a roughneck neighborhood so the possibility of someone stashing a body in her apartment wasn't too far out of the question. Roy would be surprised if he ever came to her place. He'd probably try to convince her to leave the area because it was too dangerous. That would amuse her considering she got back from one of the most dangerous places they'd ever been.

Her lips moved up into a slim smile. "You know, I just got back from Ishbal and you've been a big part of what was going on in my life. Dreams draw from that right?" She felt odd talking to a stone but it seemed the right thing to do.

"I apologize for not being nicer to you. For actually being jealous of you at times and… I'm sorry I couldn't feel anything when you first died. Now, after realizing I was blocking it out, jaded to death, I might get better with that." Tears sprang to Riza's eyes and she paused in her speech. After a full minute of trying to structure her words in her head, she spoke once more. "I know Roy won't ever be the same with out you. He needed you and with all my heart I wish I got killed instead."

She looked up. "Actually I wish I'd died in Ishbal. I knew nothing. I just shot and killed them from the shadows like a fucking coward and now I'm seeing-" She hiccupped. "I need Roy but I'm so afraid of being a burden on him." She didn't want to cause his memories to come back any stronger than they already were. He was one of the reasons she blocked out the pain of death. She needed to be strong for him.

Riza wiped her eyes and shook her head. She shouldn't be at a grave in when night set in over the city. It would be best for her to go home, take a hot bath, and go to bed. "If you can, please keep an eye on him too." She turned and started her walk home as a light rain began its descent to Earth.

**-/-/-/-/-/-**

Roy shut the door to his small rent house and, with much effort, resisted the urge to slam it. He looked in every conceivable place that his mind thought Riza would be only to come up with nothing. He even checked at the places she wouldn't be; bars in the area, night clubs, and even went to his mother's club just in case she wanted to talk to Christmas.

When he started to go back to Riza's apartment, he spotted Gracia walking towards her home and his feet took him back here. Gracia said Riza needed time alone, so perhaps Riza knew he'd go see her and was out somewhere to avoid him. She needed her space and he was sure that if she wanted him, she'd come to him. Well, he hoped she would.

He jerked off his coat and threw it over the back of the chair beside the door. Bending down, he yanked at the laces on his boots, forcing the tie to loosen and the boot to lessen its hold around his ankle and calf. When he stood straight he heard the rain beginning with its typical slow pat pat pat upon the shingles. He sighed and made his way to the shower, hoping Riza was home and not caught in the downpour.

By the time he was out of the shower and into his pajamas pants the rain sounded less of a pat and more of a thud, as if someone was dumping it on his roof all at one time. He shrugged and moved to go into his tiny kitchen when a knock on his door made him pause in his actions.

"Who in the hell would be out in weather like this?" He opened the door, expecting that a limb or some other object hit the door. Then his heart tore out of his chest. Riza stood in front of him. Her clothing stuck to her like a second skin, her fringe plastered against the front of her face, and her hairclip skewed, barely able to hold up her water drenched hair.

"Riza! What in the hel—"

"I'm sorry," she yelled over the rush of rain. Her legs shook and finally gave way. She fell to her knees, sobbing, and struggled to breathe. Roy rushed out onto the small deck and embraced her. He didn't care that the drops pounding down on him felt like needles against his bare skin or even that the neighbors might see through the heavy curtain of rain.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed him like he was her life preserver among the water attacking from above. He lifted his hand to her back of her head as she pressed her face into his warm chest.

"I'm sorry. . . I'm sorry." She kept repeating those two words over and over. He didn't know what she was apologizing for but knew it would be best to let her release all of her issue. She needed to do so more than anyone he knew.

"It's okay Riza. Just let go," he whispered. Even if he'd yelled his words, he doubted she'd hear them over the loud rush of rain; an environment that they needed to get out of. He picked her up and carried her inside his house, leaving the rain behind. Well. One kind of rain.


	78. Faker Pt 1

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 78: Faker Pt.1**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. **

**AN: If there's some formatting mistakes please look over them. I'm having issues with the doc manager on here.  
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**Faker Pt. 1**

"I'm sorry," she repeated as he sat her down on the couch. "I shouldn't have come. It was dangerous and I—I should go." She stood but didn't move since he had a firm hold on her arm.

"I don't care how dangerous it is. Sit down." Though the words themselves were stern, his voice was soft and coaxing. "Come on. Tell me what's wrong." He pulled her back down to sit beside him. "Don't hold anything back."

Riza nodded and started to speak but o coughed and shivered instead. Roy jumped to his feet. "Shit, let me get you something warm first. I'm such an ass."

Before she could protest over the negative name he called himself, he left the room. A few moments later he came back wearing a jogging suit and carrying a thick sweatshirt, towel and blanket. She stood. He handed her the towel and put the shirt and blanket on the couch.

"You should change in here, its much warmer," he said.

She nodded and took off her jacket. He draped it over a chair in front of the fireplace. She turned around and he took it as a wordless request to help her unzip her dress. When he reached up to the zipper and pulled it down, she slipped the dress off her arms and let it fall to the floor before stepping out of the green material. He took it and draped it over the chair where her jacket was drying.

When he turned, she'd already removed her bra and sat it on the table. She used the towel to dry off before taking the shirt and slipping it over her body, the garment swallowing her small form.

Roy furrowed his brows. Her thoughts were somewhere else and her body just went through the motions like a robot, or worse, a broken soldier. He sat the bra with the other clothing and went back over to her. He grabbed the blanket, unfolded it, and wrapped it around her.

"Now, talk to me," he whispered.

"It's hard."

"I know."

She looked up at him and it was then that he fully noticed the look in her eyes. They were darker, more mournful than they'd been; even at Ishbal. He never realized she held that much emotions back. "You don't hate me do you?"

Roy pulled her into a tight hug. He shook his head over and over again. I've never had a reason to hate you. Riza, don't even think that for a moment."

She buried her face against his chest and took a deep breath. For once, she wanted to be protected by him. She didn't want to be the cold Riza everyone thought she was. She thought she shared with Roy. In reality she kept silent on most issues in her mind, ones that dealt with just her, just him, and with them as a couple. This added to the heavy burden that hung over their marriage the past several years. A burden that they pretended wasn't there.

"I need you but I always feel so bad for it." Roy sat them down on the couch. "I've been your bodyguard and aide since I got out of academy. I'm supposed to make things easier on you. You have so many problems that I don't want to bother you with mine."

Roy shook his head. "We've talked about this before Riza. You worry me and I know I worry you too. I think that's part of marriage though. We are supposed to worry about each other and share each other's burdens. We have done that professionally but it hasn't quite led over in our personal lives as much as it should."

"I've been a bad wife," she said. Her body's shivering increased and she moved closer to him. You lost Maes and I was insensitive about it when I should have understood. I'm sorry I didn't. At the time, I couldn't connect with you because I couldn't feel what you felt. I couldn't share your burden in that and-"

"I told you that you didn't have to."

"But I needed to! We always go back to one of us saying we didn't have to do this or we didn't have to do that. We do have to. Otherwise we'll just be stalled in the same bad place."

"I pushed you away at that time, even suggested we divorce."

"Yes, because I couldn't understand. That's why after you pushed I kept my distance. That's why I haven't been around much now. I was trying to figure out what I've been doing wrong. It all came down to what I've repressed. All that repression branched off into me trying to take everything on myself. Which I realize burdened you and made me the kind of person I don't want to be. I've kept you at arms length, despite being in your arms."

Roy nodded. "I could feel that but I haven't exactly been Mister Share A Lot either. We both need to try harder."

Riza cuddled closer to him. "I'm sorry I haven't been around much either," Riza said. "I needed to figure things out so I could accept that I can't do it on my own and why I was being so locked it. I wanted to try and figure out how to understand you and us."

"Gracia said that was what you were doing."

"Gracia?

"She said sometimes people have to handle things on their own. That Maes tried to fix everything for her when she just needed herself."

"Part of that is true but I need you. I wouldn't know what to do if you weren't there."

"Well, I'm here for whenever you need me."

"I know."

"But that's not all you wanted to talk about is it? There's something else."

Riza nodded. "I killed an Ishbalian yesterday."

"I heard."

"And I realized he wasn't the first."

Roy moved her back a bit so he could look into her face; his own a mask of confusion. "What?"

"I blocked out the way I felt when I killed. I felt more guilt over nearly wiping out a race than death as a whole. I saw so much I guess I just pushed it back. Killing him brought everything out. As I stared at the man, my protective walls came down and, despite all the usefulness of them being gone, I can't help but want them back up."

She rested her head against his chest once more. "It hurts." More tears flowed from her eyes, soaking the warm fabric of Roy's shirt.

"Just cry, everything will be—" Roy couldn't lie to her and tell her that things would be okay. The guilt never ease, the nightmares would never cease. You learned to live with them, learned how to keep it from ruining your life, but it was always a permanent scar on the mind.

"I never thought of why I did it! Why didn't we just quit? We didn't have a reason to follow orders like that. To kill them. We can't blame anyone but ourselves. Killing them is in no way justifiable!"

"Maes once said that he kills so he won't be killed. He had people back then to live for."

"Maybe killing to keep from being killed was justifiable for the ones being shot at on the ground but I can't use that excuse. No one shot at me. I just sniped from the shadows like a coward. "

"We don't have a reason why we didn't just leave. I think Maes' reason was only a shield like your wall. Besides, you protected people from your location." Roy didn't believe any of his words justified their actions and knew Riza wouldn't take them as truth either. He felt stupid for speaking them.

"I wasn't most of the time. For the majority of the war I was in a remote location. And what the fuck was I protecting?" She jerked away. "Basic truth. If we hadn't gone then we wouldn't have a reason to fight to stay alive. It all—"

Roy finished her sentence. "Falls back to our decisions."  
"Yes."

"I've thought of these things for years Riza. I've learned that the decisions we've made in the past will stay with us no matter what. We can't use alchemy to go back and fix things. There's nothing for us to do but learn from our actions and use the mistakes we've made to make a better present and future. You are the one that showed me that and I can't improve things without your constant reminder and support.

Riza nodded and smiled as he wiped her tears. "What if I can't cope? I don't have my mental shield up anymore and without that I'm liable to turn into a useless heap."

Roy leaned in and kissed her. "You'll be fine but if you feel yourself about to break, talk to me, write things down, talk to me."

She laughed and sniffed. "You said talk to you twice."

"Yeah, I never want you to be afraid or feel you have to keep anything inside. I know Rebecca and even Havoc would let you talk if you need someone other than me."

Riza pulled the blanket tighter around her as more tears came. "I don't think I've ever cried this much before in my life. I'm going to run out of water if I don't stop."

Roy chuckled. "I doubt that. Besides, crying good for you."  
"I guess."

After a few minutes of silence, Roy felt Riza relax in his arms. "You are going to take work off tomorrow right?" She jolted from her relaxation and sat up straight. He spoke before she got the chance to protest. "Please don't argue Riza. You know you need it."

"No, I don't. I need to work. I want to be around you." She hugged him like a kid would hug their favorite plushie. "See? I'm being clingy."

"Cling all you want. I like you near me. But you've been through a lot. Its not unusual for a soldier to take some time off after what happened."

"Yes it is. Top playing favorites. You wouldn't do this for any other soldier."

"Actually, any commanding officer that is concerned over the mental state of a subordinate would insist upon it. Leave because of a mental state after a killing isn't unusual. It's even advisable by-"

"No, I'm not taking time off. I took off today."

"No you didn't. You were still considered on duty today because you just got back."

"I'm not taking the day off tomorrow."

What if I order it?"

"You won't."

Roy sighed. "Fine. But at the very least will you compromise with me?"

She pulled away and raised an eyebrow at him. "Compromise how exactly?"

"Work half the day. That way you can get home in the morning, change into your uniform, and you won't have to leave me tonight."

Riza didn't feel like arguing nor did she want to leave his side. "That's a good compromise."

**/-/-/-/-/**

Despite knowing how adaptable Riza was, he expected her return to work to be difficult. Instead, she'd fallen back into her duties immediately like the consummate professional she was. It'd been a week since she came to his apartment disheveled and bewildered over what to do with herself and how to deal with her new found emotions. She hadn't been back to his apartment since that night and showed little signs that the Ishbal incident bothered her.

When she returned to the office, he half expected her to blow up over the fact everything that should be done wasn't completed. But no angry words to pass her lips and no frown to appear upon them. She merely took to the work like she expected it to be there.

Though the group tried their best to complete everything, without her around their well oiled machine was rickety and rusted. Paperwork ended up at the wrong offices, phone calls went unanswered, and other issues that he never knew they handled, went unsolved. She kept the more monotonous duties to herself while he handled the more important ones. He made a note to address this at the next office meeting. He would find out everything she did and do more himself and assign more to the men so that if she was gone again, they'd be better prepared. It also wasn't reasonable that she did more than the rest of them; things that weren't her duty to do in the first place.

Roy stood, went to the door, locked it, and walked over to her desk. "You've been working really hard this week."

"Yes, there's a lot to catch up on."

He walked behind her and leaned over to whisper in her right ear, making sure to let his lips brush it as he spoke, "Come over tonight after I get off work?"

"I can't, I have a lot of shopping to do."  
"You are going. . . Shopping?"

"Yes. Grocery shopping. I have nothing edible at my place now. I've been having small dinners at the café down the street after work every night. If I keep that up I'm not going to be able to fit in my uniform."

Roy laughed. "It is unusual for you to eat out."

"With everything plaguing my mind lately, I haven't felt like cooking."

Roy's expression turned serious. "Are you doing okay? You seem to be fine at work but—"

"Can I come over this weekend?" she asked as she placed another form on a pile of finished work. She spoke in a lower voice.

"Of course. You know you don't have to ask."

She turned her head to the right to look at him and smiled. "Then that's all I need. Please don't worry, I'll be fine. You let me voice what I needed. Almost all is open."

"Almost?"

"I'll tell you this weekend," she said and turned her focus back onto her work.

"Right." Roy kissed her behind the ear then went over to his desk. Before he could sit down his phone rang. He picked it up. "Colonel Mustang speaking. Yes. No, that won't be necessary. I can walk there and sign them." He stayed quiet, listening to the speaker for a moment before responding. "Very well, thank you. Goodbye." He put down the receiver and directed his sights to Riza. There are some forms upstairs that the accounting office needs me to sign. I'm going to go up there." He stretched his arms behind him, him limbs and back popping as he did so.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to go up and bring them down here for you?"

"No, you don't have to do that. I need to stretch my legs anyway. It won't take but a few minutes."

"Don't be too long, Sir," she said. "We still have lots of work down here."

"I won't," he said and left the room.

She stood and began filing papers in the cabinet behind her as he left the room. A few minutes later, she heard a knock on the door. She turned and shot to attention when she saw the fuehrer standing in the entry way, an unreadable expression on his face. She felt her palms grow cold and nausea took up residence in the pit of her stomach when he smiled at her.

"Please Lieutenant, at ease." She relaxed as much as she could. "I'm here to see Colonel Mustang. Where is he?"

Riza didn't like the tone he spoke with, it was full of faked cordiality. Whatever he was, he knew how to play people like they were pawns on a chess board. Luckily, she was good at chess. "He went to sign some forms upstairs, Sir." It was odd that the fuehrer would seek Roy out instead of contacting him via his aids. The fact he was alone sent more signal flares off in her brain. No one else would find his actions unusual because he was notorious for sneaking away from his bodyguards. She just knew in her gut he came here specifically when Roy was away.

"I see," he said. The hair on her arms stood when his smile widened. "I shall track him down."

"Sir, I'm sorry to question you but is that a good idea?"

"What do you mean Lieutenant?" he punctuated her rank in a different tone as if letting her know she was expendable.

"Without your bodyguards? Is it safe?" She hoped he'd take that as concern when she actually hoped someone would put a bullet through his skull. This man's aura sickened her.

"Ah. It's fine. I won't leave the building. Thank you for your concern. Oh, and mentioning concern. I never had a chance to thank you for your service in Ishbal."

Riza nearly vomited in her mouth. She swallowed the saliva that formed there like an overflowing spring and nodded. "It was my duty sir. Any of the other snipers would have done the same thing."

"None of the other snipers did though. You're skills with a gun are commendable. Mustang has found himself an excellent subordinate. Keep up the good work and you may be promoted out of his team."

Riza couldn't let him know that his statement, his emphasis on the word promoted, affected her. She forced herself to remain calm. "I'm young yet, Sir. I'm confident I could never handle the responsibility of a higher rank."

He laughed loudly; the sound came with false joy. She was master at faking her emotions and could recognize a counterfeit laugh as easy as she could shoot. "I appreciate your honesty. You were recently promoted correct."

"Around a year and a half ago, Sir."

"I see. Well, keep up the proficient work." When he trailed his eyes along her posture, she had to force herself not to shudder. After nodding his head to her, he left the office, shutting the door behind him.

Riza slouched and allowed the shudder of disgust to come, before resting back against the table. What was he? She closed her eyes and tried to focus. She didn't realize they'd been closed as long as they had until she heard Roy's voice.

"Lieutenant? Are you okay?"

She opened her eyes and was relieved to see Roy standing in the doorway. He closed the door, locked it, and checked the knob, the last action a mute indicant that he knew something was wrong.

"Yes I'm—" She cut off her words, remembering that she promised Roy she'd confide in him. "No actually, I'm not okay."

He walked closer and raised a hand to her forehead. "Are you sick?"

"Yes. I mean No. It's not sick as in — the fuehrer came to the office."

Roy straightened. "Oh? And I was gone and you are upset. Did he reprimand our team?"

Riza held her stomach with one hand and grabbed the back of her chair with the other. She spun it around and sat down. "No, not in the slightest. He said something about finding you. Evidently he didn't."

"Then why do you feel sick?"

Riza looked up at him. "Do you feel anything when around him?"

"An urge to punch him so hard he turns inside out."

Riza would have laughed if the topic hadn't been so serious. "I guess I shouldn't have phrased it the way I did. I meant do you get the feeling that he's not exactly normal?"

"I feel that around a lot of people."

Riza sighed. "No, I mean like he is—" That same feeling she'd experienced with Bradley took over her entire body even though he was nowhere in sight. This office wasn't a good place to talk about this. She stood and moved to stand beside him, she leaned against her desk. "Can we talk tonight?" she whispered.

Roy instantly caught her hint in her tone and it unnerved him. "Your shopping trip get cancelled?"

She nodded.

* * *

**AN: Good ol' Barry will make an appearance next chapter**. **XD Hope you enjoyed this and if you have time please drop a review my way. XD **


	79. Faker Pt 2

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 79: Faker 2**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction.**

**AN: SURPRISE! Early Post. I already had this done and decided to post it early. Hope you enjoy it!  
**

* * *

**Faker 2**

Riza normally found it very calming to walk the streets at night after doing her evening errands. She didn't have to walk with perfect posture, didn't have to keep up with who to salute at proper times, and didn't have to wear the horrible uniform that made her tonight the small encounter she had with the fuehrer that day weighed on her mind and made her tense. That and his praise on killing the Ishbalian and protecting him was enough to make her throw down her bags and scream every curse she knew.

She stopped when she approached the street that led to Roy's house. A familiar feeling washed over her body, not the one she got with the fuehrer but one more familiar. One committed to menacing intentions.

"Hey lady," the voice began. The man sounded more like a stand up comedian than a possible murderer. "Don't ya know it's dangerous to go out alone at this time of night? Why don't cha let me walk ya home?"

Riza relaxed and didn't turn to the speaker. It was likely another drunk trying to pick her up for the night. "Thanks for the advice, but I'm perfectly capable of protecting myself. Go home and sober up."

She took a step but stopped when the voice spoke again. "Aww lady, there's no need to be coy. There are all kinds of really dangerous people around here." Riza heard a clank of metal and turned as he yelled, "Like Barry the Chopper!"

A suit of armor barreled out of the alley and toward her, a cleaver poised to strike down upon her flesh. She grabbed her small pistol and fired. He screamed, fell on his butt, and scurried backward, dropping his cleaver as he scooted.

"Hey! What the hell lady? What kind of woman keeps a gun in her grocery bag?" Riza dropped her bag and reached for the gun under her dress via the split at the side of her skirt. She pointed it at him.

"Stay right where you are."

"Another gun! What the fuck lady? Hey! Wait a minute! You're Hawkeye!"

"How do you know who I am?"

"You're that sexy military woman I wanted to chop up a few years ago!"

Riza shrugged. "I heard that mentioned once."

"You are still one fine piece of meat. Even though you look older."

Her eyebrow twitched. _Older?_ She fired off several more shots. Barry jumped back, trying to dodge the bullets, and failing. When she stopped her barrage, he jerked up and yelled at her.

"I knew you were tough but I never expected this! When a terrifying guy like me charges you with a meat cleaver you are supposed to scream in horror like this." The armor made the typical scream done by women in horror films.

She stared at him; her lips formed into a neutral expression. "I don't do girly screams."

"You didn't even flinch! That's just wrong no matter what career you are. . ." He grabbed the sides of his head and laughed. Then, with a premature, triumphant yell, shouted, "I bet this will make you scream." He lifted his head off his body.

She was stunned at his armor being empty but didn't let him know it. She fired a shot at the head he had in his grasp. It flew from his hands and his body fell onto its back.

"Ekkkkkk!" He shot up into a sitting position. "Lady! Helloooo! I'm empty!"

"You're point being?"

"You aren't scared? Terrified to the point you pissed yourself?"

"No."

"Not even a little."

"Negative."

"Not evening a little bit?" He made a pitching gesture with his fingers.

"I'm not afraid of you!"

"You are supposed to be scared!"

"Right, like I was supposed to be scared of you running at me with a cleaver right?"

"Right!"

"But I wasn't. Right?"

"Right," he said with a bit more dejection.

"Well I'm not. Besides, I already know someone like you."

"Like me? Hey! You talkin' bout Alphonse?"

"You know Alphonse?" Riza suddenly felt out of sorts. How many women in their mid 20's would be standing on a street at night talking to an empty suit of armor that wanted to slice them up? Roy's statement about not knowing anyone really normal came back to her head.

Barry laughed. "You a friend of his? He's lucky. You got moxie lady."

"Who are you? How do you know Alphonse?"

The armor grabbed his head and put it back on. "I like strong women like you."

"Don't change the subject. Answer my question before I shoot you again."

He sighed like a teenager looking at their crush. "I think I'm in love with you."

Riza took a step back. "Wha…Wh…huh?"

"Marry me."

"You are nuts!"

"Yeah, over you."

She sighed. "Come on."

"Ya going to marry me?"

"No! I'm calling someone." She picked up the bags she dropped but found them suddenly jerked out of her grasp. "I'll carry those for you sweetie."

She grabbed them away from him. "I can do it. And don't call me sweetie."

"Okay. . . How about pudding?"

"No."

"Snookums?"

"Just shut up."

Riza made her way back down the street to a phone booth and walked inside.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?" she said when Barry tried to get into the booth with her. She put her hand against Barry's face and pushed him back. "Stay out there and watch my stuff!"

"Okay, honey bun!" he said and left her to her task.

"Argh!" she picked up the phone and dialed the office number. After giving the operator at headquarters the proper code, the phone rang, and she heard her husband's voice.

"Sir, it's me."

"Ah, hello Lieutenant. Is there a problem?"

"Sorry to disturb your work Sir but I captured something really . . ." She looked at Barry, who was sitting on a fence swinging his legs back and forth like a child. "I captured something really weird. I think you should come see him. I'm at the phone booth on 12th and Maple."

"Weird? Okay, I'll be there in a bit. Hold tight."

"Yes Sir, thank you."

"You're okay aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm fine other than the fact he keeps hitting on me."

The line was silent for a moment. "I'll run there!" Roy hung up the phone without a goodbye.

Riza stared at the receiver for a moment before sitting it on the base. A small smile appeared on her lips for an instant. She took a deep breath and left the booth.

"Hey?" Barry asked.

"What?"

"You have a boyfriend? Was that him? Can I chop him up?"

"No, no, and absolutely not." She sat down on the fence, ignoring the drunken men that occasionally walked past and more difficultly, Barry's loving stares. After a while, her nerves were frayed to a point that she had to say something about his gaze.

"Would you stop staring at me?"

"But you're so beautiful! You should let me chop ya up!"

"No."

Barry sighed and looked away from her. He laughed when more people stumbled past them. "Hey?"

"What?"

"Can I chop those people up? I bet they drank so much that their organs are pickled. Let me chop em up!"

"I'm not letting you chop up anyone. Just be quiet and sit patiently." Riza folded her arms over her chest.

"Um. . . You want to play a game?"

"I don't."

"Aw, come on. It will be fun!"

Riza rolled her eyes. "What kind of game?"

"Well, you're military so you're used to blood and guts right?"

Riza cringed. She didn't need to hear that, it brought back flashbacks to her previous kill, but there was no way she'd break down in front of Barry. "Yes," she answered.

"Well, I find a guy, you close your eyes, and by the sound of the screams when I cut something off, you guess what I chopped. It's really fun."

Riza's eyes widened and she turned to him. "Have you actually played that game before?"

"No, but there's a first time for everything!"

"Okay. . ." Riza said.

"What? Really? Great! Be right back Pumpkin!" He stood and started to walk away. She grabbed the long plume in his helmet and pulled him backward.

"Sit and shut up!" It was the loudest she yelled at him so far. "You are annoying the hell out of me!"

He sat back upon the fence and stared at her. He sighed. "I love tough women." When he remained silent for a good ten minutes she checked to see if he was still there.

"Come on sweetie. . ." he said when she looked at him, "let me chop ya up!"

"God not this again," she muttered. "You aren't going to chop me up! For the last time no!"

"Well hows about that guy that's coming here?"

"Not a snowball's chance in hell." She rested her chin in her hand with her elbow propped upon her knee. "I really wish the Colonel would get here."

Barry suddenly grabbed her and hugged her.

"What in the hell are you doing?"

"Protecting you! There's a drunken man coming over here!"

Riza looked to the right and saw Roy standing there, his eyes wide and his right eyebrow quirked upward; a definite indication of bewilderment.

"Colonel! I'm really glad you're here. Sorry for bothering you but—" She turned to Barry. "Will you let go of me!" She hit him on top of his head with her elbow several times, trying to get him to loosen his grip.

She saw Roy's eyebrow twitch when she felt Barry's hand go a bit too close to her breast.

"Hey toots? Do you know this chump drunk?"

"Be quite you!"

Roy pulled his gloves from his pocket and shoved them onto his hands, muttering several words she couldn't distinguish. His jaws tightened and his eyes narrowed into small slits. His lips formed into a frown. "Stand aside Lieutenant. There's going to be an inferno tonight."

Riza managed to jerk out of Barry's hold and walk up to Roy. "Calm down." She grabbed his hand and lowered it. "Ooo she's not afraid of you either. You're so sexy sweetie!"

Riza glared at him and said, "Yes, we've established you think I'm sexy." She turned her gaze back to Roy. "This is Barry the Chopper. He was supposed to have been executed last year."

"But as you can see I'm still here and ready to chop."

Roy shook his head. "Every single time I say things can't get any stranger, they find a way." He removed his gloves. "This isn't a good place to talk. I'm going to call Falman and we'll go to one of the warehouses down the road."

"But what if I don't' want to go with you?" Barry said.

Riza snarled. "You're going! No arguments or I'll take you there in pieces."

Barry scooted back a few inches and looked at Roy. "She's scary when she's mad!"

"Yes, I know."

**-/-/-/-/-/-**

"Okay, May 3rd, year 9." Falman asked after he recovered from what he was seeing. When Mustang called him he certainly wasn't expecting to meet Barry the Chopper in a suit of armor.

"That was Reynolds. I chopped him up behind the warehouse in district 9. I remember that he was a squishy one. He couldn't run very fast either. Four-hundred pound dudes shouldn't be security guards if they can't run."

Falman nodded. "How about January 30th, year 8."

"Oh, that was Beeper and Milton. I did the world a favor with them! That Beeper guy just couldn't sing. He was on the theater circuit a lot. Not sure what the Milton girl did other than get drunk and lose her clothing periodically. Girl didn't know the meaning of undergarments. Caught em in a back alley and sliced em both before they knew what hit em."

"Bit too much information there. Who was your victim on October 2nd, year 10?"

"Hanks. First name, Tom. He was a no talent hack. Insulted the way I cut my meat at my shop. So I felt the need to cut him up and show him how smooth my methods were."

"And the Sausage incident on May 3rd."

"It was on May 13th, not the 3rd and his name was Sauasager, not Sausage."

Falman nodded and closed the small notebook in his grasp.

"So, what do you think?" Roy asked.

"Well he didn't' fall for any of my traps and knows too much about the crimes to be a fake. I think you are dealing with the real Barry the Chopper."

"What? You thought I was a fake! I'll show you! I'm going to chop ya up into tiny-" Riza hit him against the side of his head with a long metal pipe. Barry looked at her and rubbed his head, even though it didn't hurt him. "Awww Muffin, did you have to do that? I was just kidding."

"No you weren't."

Barry laughed. "Yeah, you're right."

She hit him again.

"Okay, ease up a little Hawkeye." Roy stuck his hands in his pockets and nodded once. "I believe you Barry."

"You aren't too bad after all fella!"

"You were supposed to be executed though. So why are you here and how did you come to have a body the same as Alphonse?"

"I'll answer that but I have a question first."

"No, you can't chop anyone up!" Riza said.

"It wasn't that I swear!"

"Yeah, like I'll believe that."

"Go ahead," Roy said. Though the situation was indeed serious he couldn't help but be amused at the way his wife interacted with the suit of armor.

"Well, you guys are all military but you didn't know that they put me in this armor body right?"

"That's right. Otherwise we wouldn't have needed to test you on your victims"

"So that would mean that you don't know anything at all about Laboratory 5?"

Roy shook his head. "I knew the lab was there but nothing about what was going on in it."

"That Alphonse guy snuck in with his brother one night. That's when I fought with him. Good fighter that guy."

Roy remembered what Armstrong said after the funeral. About the Elric's looking for a legend.

"Barry, I want you to tell me more about that night. Everything you can think of." He pulled a crate in front of him and sat down before removing his alchemy journal from his pocket.

"I want to make a deal first!"

"What kind of deal?" Roy asked.

"If you promise not to snitch me out to the military or the people that made me like this, I'll tell you everything I know. I want to see them burn."

Roy smirked. "Excellent. I can go along with that."

"So, to sum things up," Roy began after Barry's story. "Laboratory 5 was being used to create philosopher stones even though the formula was still imperfect. The main ingredients were human beings?"

"That's right. But the building is just rubble now, making it impossible to prove it even if evidence was left," Barry added.

"Conveniently," Roy growled. "So, Military personnel and researchers were used in this project which means military command must be involved someway. Individuals named Lust and Envy are also involved." Roy looked up at Barry. "What information can you provide on those two?"

"Lust is all woman. It's like va-va-voom. Very succulent. I'd love to cut into her flesh, especially those big utters of hers. She's a fine premium cow! Envy is scrawny, not much meat to chop off. If he were a cow, I wouldn't bother slaughtering him. He wouldn't make even a pound of ground beef. "

Roy face palmed. "Okay, that's enough. So, after you were executed did those two do the transmuting?"

"Nah, they didn't do the dirty work. It was the researchers. And they didn't' kill me first. I was still alive as they sucked out my soul and put it in this armor. Just so we are clear, I didn't have any choice in the matter. It was the most excruciating pain I've ever been in. I wish they had just killed me."

"Should I look into this lab?" Falman asked. "Maybe I can track down some of the people that worked there."

"There's no way, they were all used for the stone. Happened a few days before the building collapsed."

"Well that's morbidly efficient."

"Does that mean that they don't need to try to make anymore stones? Have they perfected one now?" Riza asked.

"No clue," Barry said.

Roy closed his journal. "An organization with ties with military command. The philosopher stones. It's a lot to take in."

"Damn right." Barry said.

Roy sighed. "Okay Barry, I have one more question for you."

"Okay."

"Did you murder a military officer in a phone booth a month or so ago?"

Riza shivered when she saw Roy's face. The look in his eyes; it was murderous. Like her Roy was sucked out of his body and replaced by a zombie of rage. Replaced with someone that could kill anything in its path. What terrified her most was that she felt like she needed to draw her gun.

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**AN: This chapter was beyond fun to write. Hope you had fun reading it. Please drop a review if you have the time. Loves and huggles. **


	80. Identity

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 80: Identity**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. **

**AN: There's a bit of sensuality/sexuality in this chapter but nothing descriptive, just a mention. **

* * *

**Identity**

When Riza saw Barry scoot back and away from Roy, she knew he saw the look of death on Roy's face.

"Was he chopped up?"

Roy stood and shook his head. "No. Never mind. You don't know anything about it if you have to ask that." He turned to Falman. "You can go Warrant Officer Falman. Thank you for your services."

"Yes, Sir."

Roy slipped on his coat. "I'm going to ask you to forget everything you heard here tonight. This is getting more dangerous every second. You needn't put yourself in danger following me."

Riza noted the look on Falman's face; the man was on their side already.

"That's true, but Colonel my memory is just too good to forget something like this. I've gotten into the car already. I might as well ride it out until the end. If there's anything else I can do, don't hesitate to ask me."

"There is something."

"Yes?"

"Keep an eye on this guy."

Falman's face fell. "Huh?"

"I need you to keep him out of sight from both military and civilian people. I'm going to try to do some digging. I'll arrange your vacation so you don't have to worry about anything other than taking care of Barry here." Roy and Riza both walked to the door. "I'm counting on you," Roy said.

"Barry, don't you even think of chopping him up or I'll tear you apart and melt you into jewelry."

"Wait honey!" Barry said running to Riza. "I need to tell you something important!"

Riza sighed. "It isn't about one of your victims is it?"

"No! Come here!" He grabbed her arm and led her behind a bunch of crates. Roy and Falman stood there stunned.

"Does she always make friends with such weird . . . um . . . things?"

Roy looked at him. "Its part of her charm I guess. Besides, what does your statement say about us?"

"Right. Point taken."

**-/-/-/-/-**

"What is it Barry?" she said.

"Are you going to be okay going with that guy?"

His statement caught her off guard and she eyed him questioningly. "What do you mean by that?"

"That guy . . . when he asked me about that murder . . . he's dangerous. I know that look he gave me. I've seen it before in blood lust. You should stay with me and Falman or get away."

Her skin prickled. It was one thing for her to be uneasy about his look but when a serial killer was worried about her then there was something to be cautious about. "I'll be okay," she said. "Thank you for your concern."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

He slumped, well, as much as a suit of armor could slump. "Okay then."

Riza walked out from behind the crates. Barry trudged behind her. Roy patted Falman on the shoulder before he and Riza left the warehouse.

"Bye honey," Barry yelled.

**-/-/-/-/-**

Riza scrunched up her nose and frowned when she heard a small snicker. She could tell by the way it shot out then stopped that he was trying to hold it in, or at least keep it at a low enough pitch so that she wouldn't hear him. "You know, I can hear you. Just what are you laughing at?"

"I'm not laughing. Laughing would be louder."

"Don't go getting all technical on me. I'm not in the mood. If you want to laugh then just do it but tell me at least what you are finding so funny at a time like this."

Roy shook his head and coughed. "Nothing, I'm fine." A brief laugh came out after his words then he was silent.

"Well if you are okay, then I'll just head home and leave you laughing on your own." His laugh wasn't making her unease lighten in the least. The expression he wore when asking about Maes in the warehouse was cauterized into the memory section in her brain as though she needed to keep it in storage for future use.

She started walking quicker but jerked to a stop when he seized her wrist. "Home? I thought you were going to make me some dinner."

"Is dinner the only reason you want me to come to your place?" she asked, taking special care to avoid eye contact with him.

She almost yelped as he drew her into a narrow alley between two warehouses. He grabbed her grocery bags and sat them down before pressing her against one of the dark wooden walls.

He held her hands on either side of her head and looked at her. She couldn't see his eyes, or much of his face for that matter. The moon's rays beaming through thinner sections of the clouds in front of it was all of the illumination making it into the alley. The corners of the roof hurled jagged shadows across the area and down upon them. Roy's face, right side visible by white moonlight, the left shrouded in darkness, reminded her of the Phantom of the Opera. He was elegant, full of pain, but at the same time inwardly festering with rage and chillingly murderous looking.

Her breath caught.

"You know that's not the reason I want you to com- Riza? Why in the hell do you look so afraid? Why are you so tense?"

He leaned forward just enough that the light struck most of his face. She relaxed when her gaze dove into his and she saw all marks of vengeful Roy had disappeared. After her heartbeat settled into a normal pattern, she felt an urge to lighten the mood.

"Of course I'm not afraid. You just surprised me. I wasn't expecting you to want to go at it here."

Roy flustered and let go of her. "I want nothing of the sort . . . well. . ." He smirked, pushed her against the wall, and grinned. His lips dove to embrace hers for a few seconds before he pulled away. "Want to?"

"Yes but-" She cut off her sentence when he lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist. "But we shouldn't," she finished. "Now put me down and let's get back to your place."

Roy smirked and pushed her harder against the wall. "Think you can get away?" His eyes glistened, his jaw was hard set and tense, and his body was pressing against hers so sexually and possessively that she couldn't answer him. His lips moved to her neck and bit her hard as one hand trailed under her skirt from the slit at the side. "Answer me," he growled and bucked his hips against hers.

She bit her lip as she felt the effect their close encounter had on him. When he jabbed his hips against her again she groaned and shifted closer. He attacked her neck again and she knew she was done for. She titled her head back to give him better access and decided to just enjoy this side of Roy.

**-/-/-/-/-**

Riza looked at him from the corner of her eyes as they made their way up the street that led to his house. He looked way too pleased with himself, like a cat that conned its owner out of an extra sardine or more cream. What irked her most was that he had every reason in the world to look that way because she was extremely pleased with his performance. She just wasn't' pleased with the venue of the performance.

"I can't believe I let you do that in a place like that."

"Hum… yeah. Nice memory to keep me company on the long cold nights when you aren't with me."

Riza shook her head. "For the love of . . . you'd do it in the middle of downtown with people walking by wouldn't you."

Roy's mischievous grin played across his lips. "How'd you know I always wanted to do that?"

"Wha… um…" Riza stammered. She couldn't believe that he actually thought of that before. She felt her face flush and picked up her pace so he couldn't' see that he got her flustered. She didn't see his smile widen nor hear his laugh as she got further and further away.

"I love that," he said before rushing to catch up to her.

He unlocked the door when they got to his place and let her inside first before entering behind her and flipping on the light. She hated his place. There was little more in the small home than a black sofa bed and his deal in the living room. He didn't even have a bedroom. The bathroom was cramped with only a meter separating the toilet sink and bathtub. While she didn't like huge homes, she deemed his current living environment ridiculous.

She walked into his kitchen, which was little more than a section of room blocked off by a wall with a window cut into it so one could see inside. On the living room side of the wall was a small counter with two stools, likely where Roy ate his dinner; when he actually ate at home.

She sat the groceries she had in his fridge and looked around. "What did you do with the rest of your furniture? You had nice things."

"They are in storage. At the time I didn't feel the need to bring them here. I just need basic necessities right now."

Riza nodded.

"You want some of it?"

"What?"

"The furniture. I know you just have that horrible bed at your place and that you like mine better. You can have it."

"You have the nerve to call my bed horrible when you are sleeping on a sofa bed?"

"Pff, that sofa bed is more comfortable than." He suddenly laughed and walked to Riza. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, catching her by surprise by the sudden affection. She closed her eyes and returned the kiss, her posture going slack in his embrace as always.

"You want to take me against the fridge this time?"

"I did that when we first got married but maybe later when little Roy recoups from the alley jaunt." She blushed. "It's just I'm thrilled at us talking about normal things."

Riza nodded. "Yes, we do that."

"Not recently we don't. There was no drama, nothing about work. It was simple."

Riza's face grew serious. "Yes, but that will change."

Riza relished the way his cold hand felt against her skin as he ran his knuckle down the side of her face. "What's up?"

"Let's have dinner first."

Roy shook his head. "Let's get this conversation out of the way first. Then I'll help you cook. It's been a while since we've cooked together."

"Okay."

"Let's go into the living room then."

"If you can call it that," she said.

"So you don't like the place?" Roy asked as they sat down on the couch.

"It's too small."

Roy laughed. I don't have you around as much so I wanted a cozy place. This is just fine. Nice and understated."

Riza nodded. Contrary to what most people thought, Roy was a simple man with simple taste; easy to please. "There's a difference between cozy and cluttered."

"I like cluttered."

"Just like the typical alchemist."

He removed the glove from his picket, slipped one of them on and snapped towards the fireplace.

"That's better," he said and brought his attention back to her. "Now, what did you want to talk about?"

"The fuehrer isn't normal!"

Roy blinked. "Yeah, you mentioned that in the office."

"When the fuehrer and alchemists came to Eastern headquarters, I had a run in with him."

Roy straightened from his leaning position on the couch and turned in her direction. "What do you mean a run in? Did he hurt you?"

"No, he didn't touch me. He looked at me really strangely. It was when I was taking papers to the paperwork office. I ran into him in the hallway."

"And you are just now telling me this! When exactly was it!"

"It was when the bet about the battle assessment was going on. He asked me about the pool and then complimented my work. He did it in such a way that implied some sort of danger. The way he looked at me felt like he was trying to dirty me. I almost felt mentally assaulted just from his stare."

Roy growled. "That would have been good to know!"

"And you would have been even more stressed than you already were. I thought it might have been just my over strained nerves the first time."

"First time? It's happened more than once?"

"Yes. Today in the office when he supposedly came to look for you. But I was truly convinced that he was different when I was sniping in Ishbal during the anniversary."

Roy huffed and looked away from her.

"You're angry?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry. I should have told you."

Roy turned back to look at her. "What happened with him in Ishbal?"

"He doesn't sweat," she said.

Roy's face contorted into confusion. "What?"

"Everyone there was sweating like mad with the sun beating down on them. He didn't sweat or show any discomfort whatsoever."

"Well that's not that unusual. There are some people that don't have active sweat glands and maybe he was just used to the sunlight."

"I know but, Roy I just know something is off with him. Whenever I see him it feels like my stomach took on extra acid and wants to lurch it up my throat."

"Could it just be the fact you hate him so much?"

She shook her head. "Um . . . my back hurts."

"What? Well maybe I was too rough in the alley and you got bruised. Let me see." He grabbed her shoulders but she pulled away from his hands. "No, I mean. Not my back. My tattoo hurts when I see him."

Roy raised an eyebrow and regarded her with disbelief. "You're tattoo? Riza, that's ridiculous."

"Well apparently it doesn't give a damn," she snapped and sat back against the sofa. "I knew you wouldn't believe it."

"I never said I didn't believe it. If you say it hurts then it hurts."

"But you can't explain why?"

"No. I can't. Does it hurt anytime when you aren't around the fuehrer?"

"Once. Right before I ended our conversation in the office it started burning and I became nauseous. The fuehrer was no where, at least within sight."

"Okay, I'll look over the sections and see if there's anything that would cause it to react to something."

"You have enough work as it is."

"Work? This isn't work? Its fun and the fact I get to see you topless is a plus. That makes me a happy man."

Riza smiled and looked down at her lap. "Okay. I would like to know."

He lifted her face and brushed his lips across hers. "After we eat I'll have a look. I figure it's just your instincts and nerves making it act that way. Sort of like an ink version of phantom pain."

"I hope so. The last thing I want is a working transmutation circle on my back. I hate to think what I might accidentally end up doing."

Roy laughed. "You could become an alchemist and have no use for guns in anymore."

"That thought terrifies me. Don't say it again."

**-/-/-/-/-**

When Roy tickled her ribs for the third time since lying on the bed she'd had enough. "Would you please stop that?"

"Stop what?" She could hear the amusement in his voice and her eyebrows furrowed.

"You are supposed to be looking at my tattoo. Not tickling me."

Roy grinned and moved his hands to rest on each side of her are waist. He kissed the back of her neck and grinned. "I could be doing something else," he whispered into her ear.

Riza laughed. A part of her was annoyed with his perverseness but the majority of her body and mind was thrilled that he was back to being the amorous Roy he was before Maes' death and that leaning on him in her grief didn't push him away. She turned to lie on her back and pulled him down into a fiery and quick kiss before pushing him off her. "Yes, you could be checking my tattoo like you said you would." She moved back to her position on her stomach and covered her lower body with the blanket.

"Fine," he said and kissed her shoulder before focusing on the tattoo. He trailed the tips of his fingers over the part at her right shoulder, examining the wording as exactly as he could, squinting his eyes at some parts while moving closer or farther away at others. He read over the language his master used finding nothing that he didn't know was already there.

"I don't see anything up here," Roy said as he kissed the part of the tattoo that he was referring to.

She replied with a soft hum and a slight shift of her body. Roy grinned and searched the rest of the tattoo. When he was done and found nothing out of the ordinary he sighed. He started to move from his place over her, to lay beside her when it occurred to him that never checked to see if his master had hidden anything within the writing itself. Not necessarily in the meaning of the text but physically within the actual prose. This was going to take a lot of work but if it meant helping his wife then he was more than willing to take on the task of examining every inch of what was left. The logical thoughts in his brain kept telling him that it was just a bodily reaction she was having like when one's hands sweated or body shook. His curiosity fought with it and won.

He moved back up to the wording on the tattoo and began examining the first line for any odd writing swirls or scribbles that he might find. When satisfied nothing was there, he began with the second. . . then he saw it. The "I" . . . the dot of the I appeared strange. He looked at the others and noticed they were the same. He leaned in closer but couldn't make out the detail with the naked eye and knew he had no magnifier in his apartment.

"Riza, do you have a magnifying glass at home?"

When he received no answer, he noticed that her body had completely slackened. He moved away from her and lay down beside her. Looking into her face, he saw that she was sleeping like a baby. Her cheeks were still flushed with where she was crying from before, her eyes held dark circles under them like valances, and her mouth was open and she was snoring. He leaned down and kissed her cheek before moving under the covers. He'd do more research into her tattoo in the morning. He placed his arm around her waist and pulled her to rest next to him. In her sleepy subconscious she cuddled closer and rested her head on his chest, the snores stopping. He kept staring at her until he noticed tears were rapidly developing under her closed eyes and leaking down onto her raw cheeks. He let her cry in her sleep, figuring her body and subconscious mind knew what she needed better than he did.

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**AN: I was going to combine the next chapter with this one but since my beta has the next two chapter, I decided to just post what I had. And another reason I decided to go ahead and post is because there's a special project concerning this story coming on the 1****st**** of March. The link is h t t p: / / flamebangstudios . deviantart. com / # / d398v0m without the spaces. Or the link is on my profile. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please review if you have the time. **


	81. Digging

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Beta: Marxus Krieg**

**Chapter 81: Digging**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction.**

* * *

"Hmmm Riza, don't go," Roy moved his arm tighter around her waist. "Stay a bit longer."

"I can't. I've already stayed an hour longer than I should. If I don't leave now it'll be daylight and someone might see me. You should get up in two more hours and get ready for work."

He wrinkled his face and let go of her, sitting up as she moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "Fine, I'll just go ahead and get up too." He watched as she dressed. He always found it relaxing to watch her get ready to go out, whether to work or just to do something casual. Of course, it was more exciting watching her undress.

"Don't forget that you have a meeting with the Colonels on the board this afternoon," she said.

"Yes, I remember so I think I'm going into work a bit earlier as well." Instead of standing from bed he flopped back down and turned on his stomach, pushing his face into the pillow. He grinned like a cat when he felt the bed move and fingers working through his hair at the nape of his neck. "That feels great."

"You don't have to come in today until a bit later. Why would you give up sleep to come in early?"

He forced himself into a sitting position once more and sighed. "I want to check something out in regards to what Maes was doing in the records room."

"You don't have access to the records room. Especially not that one."

Roy grinned. "I have my ways to get access."

Riza kissed his forehead. "Be careful. It wouldn't be good if you got caught breaking into a records room."

"Who says I'm going to break in?" Roy cracked his neck and shrugged his shoulders a few times too loosen up before standing and going over to his closet.

"Alchemy?"

"Nope. I'm going to use Scieszka to get what I want."

"The girl that was copying all those things for Maes?"

"Yep, that's the one."

"You going to flirt with her to get in?"

Roy turned to her. "Do you think that girl would recognize flirting if she saw it?"

"No, probably not." She chuckled. "You need to shower first you know."

"Oh, right," Roy said, noting that he was putting on his clothing before actually cleaning up a bit.

"And shave."

"Yeah."

"And anyway, she's not your type," Riza said, getting back to the original conversation.

Roy nodded. "She's too bookish. I have my various ways of getting what I want."

"Believe me, I know. Otherwise I wouldn't have done a lot of the things I have with you." She walked over to him and kissed him on the tip of his nose. "See you at the office."

**-/-/-/-**

Roy woke up when he heard his name called by a female voice different from the one that usually lulled him from sleep. He reached up, removed the book covering his face, and yawned before moving to a sitting up position. He blinked a few times to lift the veil of former sleep from his eyes and saw Scieszka standing at the door, looking like a scared mouse. He felt a bit guilty for making her look that way, for risking her getting in trouble, but he needed the information.

"How long was I asleep for?" he asked.

"I think about ten or fifteen minutes. I'm not very sure." Her voice was even mousy sounding.

He heaved himself to his feet with the help of a desk beside him and fixed his uniform jacket so it was shut and concealed his wrinkled shirt from view. Those two hours of sleep that he missed would've come in handy. "Sorry I fell asleep on you."

"Forgive me for saying so sir but you look like the walking dead. You should try to get more sleep at night."

"Yes, I am trying but there's a vast difference between trying and being able to." He removed his pocket watch and frowned at the time. "Damn, that stupid council meeting starts in two hours." He walked to the door and smiled at Scieszka. "Thank you for your help."

"Yes Sir," she said and returned his smile.

**-/-/-/-**

Scieszka was right, Roy decided as he studied his face in the mirror. It was built into his locker and a tiny reflector but it was enough to see that he really did look like the walking dead. Even the hot shower he used in an attempt to make himself more presentable and appear fresher, had no affect other than to make him flushed and smell better. He slicked his hair back a bit with some gel and studied it for a moment. Now he looked like a more mature zombie. He ruffled his locks back to their everyday style and sighed. He liked it better slicked back but it wouldn't do for the higher ups to think he was "maturing" too quickly.

He slipped on a clean shirt as a voice sounded from behind him. "Are you feeling alright Colonel Mustang?"

Roy turned towards the voice and almost threw up in his mouth. Seeing the Major shirtless was bad enough but seeing him in a g-string made him want to dig out his eyes with a spoon. He turned back to his locker and searched for a receptacle for potential regurgitation containment.

"You are looking slim Colonel. Have you lost weight?"

Roy wanted to ask him if he lost the two sides of his underwear but restrained himself. Armstrong was a truly good guy and didn't deserve such a comment. "Yeah, I think so. A few pounds." His eyes went to the bandage wrapped around Armstrong's head and decided to switch the conversation's direction. He didn't need anyone thinking he was anything less than in good condition. "What happened to your head?"

The Major lifted a hand to the white bind. "It's a souvenir I got in the south when I was part of the fuehrer's entourage. Just a scratch is all."

"I see. Well I'm glad it's not serious."

"Interestingly, I ran into the Elric Brothers. Ed was at Southern Headquarters, for his assessment. Of course the fuehrer passed him instantly." Roy turned after her heard a zipper and was thankful that Armstrong now wore pants.

"Of course. Until he gets his body back he won't give up. Just stay a mangy mutt like us."

"He turns sixteen soon. That's so young."

"I wonder if he's too young for…" Roy started but then turned back to his locker to get his coat.

"Too young for what?" Armstrong asked giving Roy his full attention.

Roy looked at Armstrong's reflection in the mirror. "I wonder how long it will be until he's sent to the front as a human weapon like we were." Roy saw haunted memories cross the Major's blue eyes followed by pain. He'd seen eyes like that in a different hue just recently. Brown eyes. The night Riza came to him in the thunderstorm, when she realized the full ramifications of what she'd done. She'd had killer's eyes in Ishbal, but tormented eyes when she came to him.

"Would you really throw a kid like that into a place? If heaven's forbid, something like Ishbal happened again. You'd… you'd allow that boy to go?"

Roy shrugged. "It wouldn't be my call but I'm pretty sure he'd be sent along with the rest of us. The Fullmetal Alchemist knew the risk when he joined the military and no exceptions can be made just because he was young and foolish."

"That's it? You are using cold hard logic? No one wants to live in a world where things like that rule decisions."

Roy looked down so that his grin was concealed. So that's how it was. "Major Armstrong, unless my hearing is deceiving me I think you just denounced this military state."

"No, I haven't denounced anything. I thought when I joined that I'd be protecting the people of the country."

"As did I."

"And instead I murdered thousands."

"Yes. We're truly dogs that kill and bark at a master's commands right?"

He could feel the ice blue gaze on his back. "Now that this country's made it through a civil war. I believe there's a lot of hope brewing. It's time for someone to change things. Instead of one master, make it a pack."

"Oh? Is that so?'

"The person would need to know the pain Ishbal caused and know how to aim for the top without anything getting in his way. Don't you think so Colonel Mustang?"

Roy could hear the implications in his voice telling him that he had the support if he wanted it. Something Roy knew long ago. "I simply don't know what you are talking about."

Major Armstrong put on his coat. "I suppose I've said too much then. See you later Sir." He walked to the door.

Roy had something else to say, something not regarding the talk of his goals. "Major, another moment?"

He turned around. "Certainly, Sir."

"Have you told the Elrics about Hughes' death?"

Armstrong shook his head. "No, I couldn't bring myself to give them that kind of news."

Roy nodded. "I was just wondering. I suppose they will find out eventually. Especially with Laboratory five and the philosopher stones issue still looming."

"Sir?"

"You know, one of the ingredients for the stones is live human beings. Souls. Hughes stuck his neck out for the Elrics. He discovered something he shouldn't have and was murdered. If they knew that Hughes died over something that involved them, they'd be devastated. You are a good man for not telling them."

"You've been digging Colonel," Armstrong said.

"And I'm almost done with my hole."

"Be careful, Sir. You never know who might be listening in."

"I know.

* * *

**AN: This is probably the shortest chapter of BKS I've done yet but the next part didn't fit well within the chapter and attaching this part to previous chapter didn't fit right either. Hope you enjoyed it and a new one will come soon since this was so short. **


	82. Arrest

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 82: Arrest**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction.**

**

* * *

**

Roy flopped down in his soft office chair, leaned back and ran his hand through his hair. "I'm so sick of meetings that discuss the same thing over and over again just using different wording!" Roy said as soon as Riza entered the room. He eyed the stack of files in her grasp. "Please don't tell me that's my paperwork to do."

A soft smile formed on her lips but she quickly got rid of it. "You only have a couple sheets to sign in regards to the meeting." She walked over to his desk and put two forms down in front of him before going over to the file cabinet and stacking the files upon it.

"Okay, so after I sign these, could you do me a favor?"

Riza moved over to shut the office door before going back over to the files. "Certainly sir."

"Shoot me in the head so I don't have to go through another one of those three hour sessions about nothingness.

"Stop being so dramatic," she said.

"I haven't even had time this week to study your tattoo more. I did buy a magnifier though to check it out."

"What do you think is in the dots?"

"Don't know. I never thought your father would post a code within a code."

"He's about that annoying," Riza said. She pulled open the top drawer and began filing. "Though it would be amusingly ironic if what you were doing wasn't the flame alchemy he intended."

Riza sat up straight and quickly signed the two forms before turning his chair towards her. "Ironic, yes. Amusing? Not in the slightest."

"Perhaps. You can check the tattoo later. I don't think there's a need to be in a hurry. Other than your curiosity. Besides, today was the last of the meetings. You just have inspections for the rest of the week. In fact. . ." She looked up at the clock then filed the last file before shutting the drawer and turning back to him. "You have inspections to do right now."

Roy looked at the clock. "Right. Great… happy day," he said.

"You don't have to pretend to be lazy in front of me, Sir."

"Who says I'm pretending?"

"I know your laziness up to a point and then it starts to get too scripted."

Roy smirked. "You know me too well. Though I really hate doing these inspections. "

Riza moved over to grab a clipboard from her desk with some forms clipped upon it. "Besides, at least with inspections you get to go out a bit.

He stood and stretched. "I guess that's a positive way of looking at it."

**/-/-/-/ **

Much to his annoyance, someone from the personnel office stopped him on his way out and he had to sign a stack of forms. He could almost feel the amusement Riza kept to herself seeping through her in invisible waves. Oh yes, she was laughing inwardly at his paperwork misfortune. When he turned around after doing the small amount of work he saw she was waiting out in the hallway for him, talking to a tall man he'd never see before.

He narrowed his eyes and walked out to the couple. No, they weren't a couple… well they were a couple of officers but not a couple couple. He mentally banged his head against a wall to keep the unstructured, jealous thoughts from festering.

"So I'll drop it by your office after work. It's a real beauty."

"Yes, thank you again for going through the trouble."

"No trouble. I know it will be in good hands."

"Colonel Sir," the man said and addressed Roy with a salute before walking out of the building.

Roy watched until he was out of sight before turning to Riza who had a small smile on her face. "Quite a good looking man."

"You think so?" Roy said. "He's quite tall."

"Yes, very attractive. I like tall men. And the broad shoulders is a definite turn on," she said.

He glared at her. "You trying to make me jealous?" he whispered.

"Do I really have to try? You already are. He's a gunsmith Sir. Calm down." With that she walked down the hall and out the front door.

Roy shoved his hands in his pockets and muttered before following _**his **_lieutenant.

**/-/-/-/ **

They'd just finished their third inspection and Riza was waiting on Roy to finish signing the necessary forms in the small guard booth when a familiar voice shouted her name.

She turned and a smile instantly appeared across her lips as she saw the two young men approaching. "Edward, Alphonse, it's good to see you again. Are you doing well?"

"Same as always unfortunately," Ed said."

"Hey! Hello! Miss Hawkeye," a girlish voice said. Riza watched as a young girl in the distance, who was previously speaking to a soldier with automail, jogged towards her.

"Winry! You've really grown up. You've gotten so pretty," Riza said when the girl stopped in front of her.

"You were always pretty. You grew your hair out too. It looks beautiful."

"Thank you very much."

Al scooted closer to Ed and whispered. "I knew they knew each other but when did they have the time to become like friends?"

"I don't kno—." A displeased look crossed Ed's face. "Wait a minute. If the Lieutenant's here, that means the Col—"

"Hello Fullmetal," Roy said as soon as he left the guard booth.

"Colonel! Hello!" Al said.

Roy smiled and nodded to Winry. "Good day Miss Rockbell."

Winry blushed, earning a glower from Edward. "Good day."

"Think he's handsome?" Riza whispered to her as Roy turned toward Edward. She was used to seeing young girls get starry eyed when Roy spoke to them or was within a very close distance. It was very amusing to see the crushes they could develop so quickly. It was the mature and more voluptuous women that stirred her nerves and made her green eyed monster spring out.

"Hey, what's with the face Fullmetal?"

"What in the hell are you doing here?" Ed asked.

"Um… I'll leave you to your military talk. I've got some stuff to do and someone to visit. See you at the hotel," Winry said.

"Huh? Okay Winry. Be careful," Al said.

"I will. Bye Miss Riza. Bye Colonel Mustang," Winry said.

She nodded to Winry. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye Miss Rockbell," Roy said. He waited until she walked away from the group before he answered Ed's question. "It just so happens I was transferred here. What brings you here is the better question." They all began walking, Riza taking her place at his side and being vigilant in her guard even as she was listening to the conversation.

"We are here for some research. I need to find some information on the stones and homunculi."

"Homunculi, are you crazy? You know the rules. No alchemist may create a human being. The military wouldn't have that kind of information just lying around for even state alchemists. You won't get far with that route.

"Well. It doesn't matter. I'll take what I can get. It's better than doing nothing."

"Oh, we're here to visit Lieutenant Colonel Hughes too.?" Al said.

"Yeah, how's he doing? He still lives in the same place right?" Ed asked.

Riza looked away and stopped walking when Roy did. "He's gone," Roy said, careful to avoid Edward's curious gaze.

Surprise took over the three teens in front of him. "What do you mean he's gone?" Al asked.

Riza straightened and prepared herself for some outrageous reactions.

"Things have been so dangerous that he retired," Roy said.

Riza jerked her gaze to look at him and wished she hadn't. Roy was doing a good job keeping his mask of solid coldness but she could see straight through it. He was in such pain that she wanted to stroke his cheek and comfort him. But she didn't understand what he was doing? How could he lie like that?

"Retired? Really?"

"Yes. He took Gracia and Elecia to a safe place in the country and is going to take over his family's business. You won't find him here."

"Man, that's really too bad," Ed said.

"But being a soldier is a dangerous profession. It's good that he's thinking about his family," Al said.  
"Yeah, I agree but it's sad but I really wanted to see him." Ed said.

"I'll let you know if I discover anything in relation to the information you need," Roy said. "Let's go Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"Yes Sir," she said.

"Thank you Colonel," Al said.

"Alphonse, Fullmetal," Roy said.

"Yeah?" Ed said.

"Try to stay out of trouble. Don't get too reckless."

"Yeah, okay."

**/-/-/-/ **

After they were out of earshot from the two teenagers, Riza spoke. "Why'd you lie to them like that?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Tough. You scolded me a few years ago for treating them like children yet at times you do the same thing."

"So, where do we go next?" he asked.

"Don't try to change the subject to work, Sir. All due respect, it's out of character for you to concern yourself with duties and a shitty way of trying to distract me."

Roy sighed. "I think you were on to something back then."  
"Back then they were children. Now they are growing up. And I know that it's not that simple with you. Don't lie to me."

"You won't drop it even if I order it will you?"

"No."

"There's no reason they should know the truth yet. It will just distract them from their goals and they don't need that. The less distractions the better off they are. Right?"

She remained silent for a few paces before saying, "You know that I know you are lying, right?"

Roy exhaled harshly, the air coming out in a chuckling pattern. "I was trying to lie to myself too." He looked at her and smirked. "I guess I'm just as much a softy as Major Armstrong."

They ascended the stairs to the main building.

"You are softer. You just aren't as open with it in public."

"I don't know if that's a good thing to…" He trailed off when he opened the door and saw several men from the court-martial office escorting an officer down the hallway. He moved from the doorway and let them pass. He saw the woman in handcuffs look at Hawkeye and his wife reacting with surprise. She turned fully to watch them go.

"Maria Ross?"

"You know her?"

"Not extremely well. I spoke with her a few times in academy and in the mess. She's a great officer from what I gather and she's under Armstrong's command too. I can't imagine she'd do something to warrant getting arrested."

"Lieutenant Hawkeye!" Roy watched as a young woman ran up to Riza. He looked at her epaulettes and noted she was a second lieutenant. "Maria Ross was arrested."

"Thank you Miss Obvious," Roy muttered in Xingese.

The girl turned and saluted. "Colonel Mustang Sir. I didn't see you there Sir."

"Why was she arrested?" Roy waved off her salute.

"For the murder of the late Brigadier General Hughes, Sir."

"What? That's completely ridiculous," Riza said.

"I know. Maria wouldn't murder anyone."

"Well obviously they have evidence against her Second Lieutenant; otherwise, she wouldn't be in handcuffs on her way to the prison."

The girl seemed to shrink under his strict tone. "Yes sir."

"And don't worry about her. You should be more concerned about your attachment to her. Now go back to what you were doing. An arrest shouldn't distract you from your duties."

She gritted her teeth and saluted. "Yes sir," she said and went back into the building.

Roy walked through the doors and Riza followed. "Everyone get back to work. This isn't a circus," he said to the people in the hallway. The soldiers skittered away from him. Riza knew what they were all thinking and that Roy was hoping to elicit those exact sentiments. It was no secret that Maes' was Roy's best friend; they would think he was satisfied that Hughes' so called murderer was caught.

Roy shut the door as soon as they were in the office and turned back to face her. "Is she capable of killing Hughes?"

"I've said numerous times that anyone is capable of killing someone else. It just takes the right circumstances."

"And Maria Ross's circumstances? Do you believe she did it?"

"No, I don't. Not for a minute."

Roy smiled. "Neither do I. She's being used as a scapegoat. With the information I know. There's little doubt."

"That's the feeling I'm getting from this. The arrest was too showy. They would have taken her out a back exit in case of danger or information leak."

"I want you to get me information on her."

"To what extent?"

"Get me everything you can. Background, addresses, medical records. I have a feeling I might need them. I don't want an innocent person being executed."

"Right."

"And I know I don't have to tell you to be discrete. I don't want you getting arrested."

Riza smiled. "That information will be easy to get. I'll have it for you as soon as I can."

* * *

**AN: As promised. Quick update. My beta has the next two chapters in progress. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please drop a review if you have the time. XD Also to those who read Vacuous Heart of Blood. I'm working on the chapters. **


	83. Murderer

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 83: Murderer  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction.**

**

* * *

**

Riza walked in the next afternoon with the information Roy needed. He looked up from his paperwork as she extended a thick manila folder in his direction. "Sorry it took me so long to get it. My friend from the office had a harder time than anticipated."

Roy took the folder from her like it was a dangerous animal. "Um… you have it already? I was expecting it to take longer than it did."

Riza shrugged. You remember the girl that came to us when Maria Ross was first arrested?"

"Yeah."

"She's a supporter of yours and works at the personnel records section. After I told her what was going on, not everything of course, she was more than willing to get me what I needed. It took so long because she had to make copies of the information when her superior and other officer in the room were away. "

"Oh, I see. Very good work then."

"There's something else that was brought to my attention Sir."

"What's that?"

"Have you seen the afternoon edition of Central Tri-daily?"

"No."

Riza handed him the paper. "Apparently they've already decided she's the murderer."

Roy looked down at it, meaning to give it a quick glance. Instead his eyes shot to Maria Ross's picture right in the middle of the front page; the article surrounded it, taking up the rest of the space.

"Guilty without the chance of being proven innocent," he snapped. The government was really pushing his patience. If it was Hughes investigating this and it was someone else's murderer there's no way they'd be anything about it in the paper until the trial was over.

"Yes."

Roy nodded. "Is Breda outside?"

"Yes Sir."

"Tell him to come in here."

Riza moved to the door, opened it and called Breda inside. The man thumped up to Roy's desk and Riza shut and locked the door. He handed the paper to Breda and watched as he scanned it.

"Do you know her?"

"Not personally. I know her through Sergeant Denny Broch. He's head over heels for her. And of course I heard what happened, but what the hell is this? They didn't even give her a trial. Hell, she just got arrested yesterday evening."

"Right. Rather stupid on the government's part. Obvious they think no one cares about her lack of trial as long as the murderer is caught."

"This is too showy."

"Yes, and we care about that. I also care that the fuehrer has to approve all media relations before they are printed."

"Which means he approved this."

"Exactly. And—" The phone rang and he picked it up. "Hello?"

"Warrant Officer Falman calling from an outside line," the operator said with a nasally voice.

Roy's face cringed. "Put him through please."

"Yes, Sir."

"Colonel," he heard Falman say, "I have information regarding what's in the afterno—"

"Hey! Give me the phone Falman!" Roy heard Falman protest and a painful "ouch" leave him before Barry's voice became dominate over the line. "Hey Mustang, did ya see the paper? Maria Ross, that's fuc—"

"Bar…Bunny darling . . . long time no talk. You really must miss me if you had Falman call me on a _**private**_line at work. You know you aren't supposed to call me on the _**military**_ line."

When it grew quiet for a short time, Roy wondered if Barry was going to say anything else. He almost fell over when Barry started speaking in a voice that sounded very much like a female. "Oh, I am so sorry Roykins. Your little bunnykins just had to tell you something that is going to affect both our futures."

"Alright, I'll call you back from an outside line."

"Okay, I wuv you," Barry said.

Roy blenched, shuddered, and then hung up the phone before getting to his feet. "Hawkeye, I need you to take care of things here. Breda, come with me."

**/-/-/-/**

When Roy arrived at a phone booth, purposely avoiding the closest one to headquarters for more than one reason, he walked inside and dialed the number. Barry answered. "Don't you ever make me make an ass of myself again? Understand? Talking like that is humiliating."

Roy chuckled. "Relax. That little actor of yours potentially saved our skin. If I talk on a military line here in Central there's a chance it could be tapped."

Barry huffed. "Why don't you just admit you like men to talk to you in a sexy female voice?"

"That voice was anything but sexy. You sounded like a drunken butch transvestite. Anyway, what is it you wanted?"

"She's innocent. I want to break Maria Ross out of prison," Barry said bluntly, taking Roy off guard.

"You what? Just how do you plan on doing that?"

"By taking her right out the front gate. But getting her out is one thing. Making sure—"

"She's not caught is another," Roy finished. His lips quirked up into his infamous smirk as he got an idea. "I can do that…Tell me… what's the best place to kill someone?"

"Huh? Oh, that's easy. Second Street in the warehouse district. It's dark and great for killing people. If I hadn't been caught when I tried to kill that Winry chick I would have bee—"

"Enough Barry. Listen to me. Don't kill any MP's or Civilians. You understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, I won't. I don't want Hawkeye honey to be mad at me. So what do we do first?"

"First we are going to say that Falman is being held hostage by a psychopathologic murderer and—" Roy heard a loud slam. "Hey, what was that sound?"

"I didn't' want to explain all that to him so I knocked him out."

"Oh," Roy said as he took out his notebook from his pocket and began writing. "Good idea. Good luck tonight. Be sure to get Maria Ross to Second Street. I'll handle the rest." Roy hung up the phone and left the booth. He handed Breda the list he'd written out. "Bring the things on this list to second street in the warehouse district as fast as you can. I'm going to call Havoc and have him meet me there."

Breda looked down at the list. "Pork meat? Bones? Carbon and Ammonia? What is all this?"

"That is the recipe for a charred human."

His head shot up, eyes widened. "You are going to transmute a human being?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm only going to make something that looks like a human being. It doesn't have to be functional so I can cut corners with the internal organs."

"They'll find out it's a fake if they do an autopsy."

"After I'm through that corpse will be charred all the way though. They won't be able to tell."

"What if they look at dental records?"

"Lieutenant Hawkeye got me her dental records. Human teeth are easy to transmute as long as I have the ingredients."

"You really think you can pull this off?"

Roy nodded and leaned against the phone booths door. "I'm not expert on human anatomy but I'm almost certain that no one knows how to incinerate bodies better than me."

**/-/-/-/-/**

"Everything is all set. Now we wait," he said to Riza when he sat down at his desk.

"Are you sure you are going to be able to pull this off? It's risky."

Roy was very surprised that Riza was questioning his actions. Usually she went along with his plans without any dissent. "You think I should just let her be executed?"

"I didn't say that," she said, "I'm just worried about your position. If you are caught then—"

"If, Lieutenant. That's the key word right there. If I am caught."

Riza sighed and walked over to his desk to neaten the papers there. "Yes, If."

"What do you suppose I do then?"

"I never said I knew what to do. It's just this plan is crazy."

"You expect anything less."

She released a chuckling sigh. "No I suppose not."

She reached across the desk to get a piece of paper and Roy caught her wrist. She turned her eyes upon him, her orbs speaking questions of why he had hold of her.

"Give me a kiss." It'd been a few days since he kissed her last.

"I thought I told you nothing else like this in the office."

"It's just a kiss."

She stationed herself upright and stared at him with a scolding glare but he kept his grip on her wrist with a firm hold. "A kiss can get you into trouble."

Roy rolled his eyes and let go of her wrist. Sometimes Riza could be so frustrating with her strict rules. "With who. No one is here in this office and the door is locked."

He was surprised when she laughed and leaned in to kiss him. She got so close to his lips when the phone rang.

"Well shit," he said.

Riza pulled away and answered it. He tensed when she did. She turned to him and covered the mouth piece with her hand. "Bunny is on the hop, Sir." A moment later she sat the receiver back on its base. "There's a bulletin out to capture Maria Ross."

He grinned smugly, knowing Riza hated that particular expression. "Dead or alive I presume?"

"Yes," she muttered.

Roy picked up the coat draped over the back of his chair. "Excellent." She opened his desk drawer and handed him his gloves.

He took them then gave her a quick peck on the lips. "That's my good luck kiss."

Riza smiled and gave him another fast kiss. "Happy hunting, Sir."

Roy slipped on his gloves as he advanced closer to the area Barry directed him to. The night wind bellowed across the street and insinuated itself between the narrow alleys, creating a dull howl into the night. The lights around him flickered as he set himself into a determined posture. He made his way to the proper area and waited for the young woman he was saving.

A flicker of doubt manifested itself for a moment as he waited. What if she as the one that murdered Hughes? Barry and, more importantly, Riza were confident that she wasn't the killer. Even so, he couldn't keep doubt from looming over his thoughts like a storm cloud.

He heard footsteps approach and firmly placed his feet apart, asserting that his plot would remain as planned. He heard them coming closer and closer and almost laughed when she slid to a halt in the prison slippers they gave her. Her eyes broadened and she gasped and wobbled backward a few paces. He narrowed his eyes and her face turned into an expression of sheer terror. He either expected her to run or freeze in fear. Thankfully it was the latter. He wouldn't have to stop and explain things and risk being caught.

"Maria Ross I presume." He lifted the lid off the dumpster beside him and extracted the "corpse" he made earlier. When she looked at it, her panicked look intensified. He couldn't blame her really. It wasn't every day someone pulled a corpse from a dumpster. If he had time he would have laughed over the fact she was more afraid of it than she was of him. "It's a dummy." He snapped intentionally going a bit more than needed and fire flew up from the body like a small bomb exploded. The wind cleared the smoke quickly and he looked into Maria's eyes. "After tonight, you're a dead woman."

"Huh? I don't understand." Her voice juddered as she spoke.

"Quit dawdling," Roy snapped and walked past the corpse to grab her arm. He removed her bracelet then slung her into the dumpster.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Roy shut the lid. He put the bracelet on the corpse's wrist and burned it. He heard footsteps behind him and straightened as a familiar and annoying voiced cried out his name with such fury Roy thought he'd be on the end of an alchemy attack any second.

"Mustang!"

Roy cursed. Fullmetal was the last person he needed at the moment. He transformed his look to one of a careless murderer and stood to full height. He lowered his voice to display an apathetic tone. "Hello Fullmetal." He could tell his tone and look affected the young man because he stumbled back a few paces as if he was seeing a stranger. In a way, he was.

Edward's eyes flew to the corpse and he released a protesting noise somewhere between a whimper and scream. Finally his anger got the better of any emotions inside the small body. "What in the hell did you do! What's the meaning of this?" He took a step forward. "How could you do this?" he shrieked. He made a fist with his flesh hand and looked down at the ground, his entire body trembling with vehemence. "What did all of this happen? Why was Hughes killed?"

Ed stormed toward Roy, grabbed his collar, and jerked him down. "Why didn't you tell me? I had to hear from Winry!"

Roy wrenched away and punched him, knocking him onto the ground littered with broken bottles and rotted food. "You should know your place Fullmetal!" Roy hated being touched in such a rough manner and his anger quickly flooded his demeanor. It was bad enough he had to do all this shit in the first place and Fullmetal wasn't going to ruin his hard work with his childishness. "Raising your hand to your superior is a grave offense. Do you want to ruin what progress you've made? Do you want your brother to stay in that scrap for the rest of his life?"  
"How dare you!" Edward flew to his feet and rushed toward him, only to have large armor arms grab him. "Brother! No!"

"Let me go Al! I'm not sure what happened but I do know that this bastard murdered Lieutenant Ross!"

"What?" Al gasped and looked at the corpse. "Why…why'd you do that Colonel?" His innocent voice calmed Roy a bit. He straightened his collar.

"Murder Fullmetal? No. Maria Ross was convicted of murdering Hughes. When she escaped from prison the orders were to kill if she resisted. There's nothing else to say."

"That doesn't explain anything," Al yelled. "You could have just injured her."

"And she would have been brought back to be executed anyway. If anything I offered her a nice quick death."

"You got your revenge against someone that didn't murder Hughes!" Ed yelled.

"Anyone else would have—"  
"Killed her. Anyone else would have done the same thing as me," Roy said.

"The lieutenant would have—"

"Shot her right in the temple or between the eyes," Roy interrupted again. It was rough for him to bring Riza into this with what she was going through, but they were fond of her and the quicker they came to the realization people weren't always so idealistic as they, the sooner they would grow up and become more cautious. "She joined this military and she follows orders regardless."

When the boys stayed silent, he knew he hit them hard and had to push down the guilt he felt. It was for the best.

"That…" Al began, "just because anyone else would have killed her doesn't mean you have to."

Roy ignored his statement in favor of another issue. "I apologize for keeping Hughes's murder a secret. That is the only thing I'm going to apologize for. Stay here and make sure no one touches the corpse while I contact headquarters. That's an order."

Roy hated most of the military police and their slowness at crime scenes was one of many on his lists of reasons why. If he got another dirty look or heard another growling whisper about his actions he was going to give the soldiers an upbraiding and file insubordination reports on most of them there. Almost half the MP's in Central thought they were above everyone else in the military regardless of their rank and likely because of the egocentric corruption brewing. Usually Roy would just ignore their attitude but at the moment his nerves were frayed and his temper was tiered on the edge of restraint.

"Colonel Mustang." Roy turned his head and saw the man in charge of this particular outing walking towards him with a posture that looked like someone had shoved a sawed off broomstick up his ass. He stopped and eyed Roy disdainfully. "My name is Douglas from military police HQ. Please explain your actions tonight Colonel Mustang."

Roy's mood darkened. "My orders were to shoot to kill if she resisted. She resisted, so I killed. Roy looked at his epaulettes and relaxed against the wall. "I know you are trying to earn points but isn't this a bit much?" His sentenced ended with a snarl.

"Points?" Roy folded his arms and fixed his gaze on Douglas. "I guess a classy central guy like you doesn't like to see an Easter hick get promoted do you? Especially above you."

Roy could tell the man was trying to hold back his temper. "I'm saying you went too far. Thanks to you we can't even confirm the identity of the body. You need to learn restraint Mustang."

There was his chance. "And you need to learn respect. Last I check despite you being military police I still outrank you and you are to call me either by my rank or Sir. Is that understood?"

_Damn, that felt good. _

"Yes Sir."

Roy pushed away from the wall. "I apologize for overdoing it here and making your job more difficult. I wouldn't worry too much about the identity. Doctor Knox will be able to identify the body. I worked with him in Ishbal so he knows my work well."

**/-/-/-/**

Just when he calmed down enough to relax he got riled up again just by the mere stares from the Elrics and Armstrong's apology to them. He crossed his legs and leaned back against the seat, trying to get as comfortable as possible while they waited for the autopsy report. Fortunately he'd contacted Knox and told him the situation with Ross. Knox would know whether the body was faked or not so it was the best bet he was let in on the plan.

"I'm sorry for not telling you of Lieutenant Colonel Hughes' death."

"He… died because he knew too much about the stone. It's my fault. I shouldn't have gotten him involved.

_That's right, you shouldn't have but you did so stop bawling._ Roy thought. _But I shouldn't have gotten him involved with my goals either so we're both to blame. _

"Hughes wouldn't have gotten involved if he hadn't wanted to," Roy snapped.

"Hughes wouldn't have wanted you to murderer an innocent person either. You are no better than the one that kill him."

"Ed!" Al said.

Those words gutted him but he wouldn't let Ed know that. "It's true," Roy said. "I'm not any better."

Ed didn't respond since the doors to the examination room opened and Doctor Knox emerged. Roy noticed him point a stare in his direction before taking a clipboard from his assistant.

"The charring is so sever that I can't tell if she was burned before or after she died."

Ed glanced at Roy. "Is there a chance that it's not her?" Ed asked when he turned his attention back to the doctor.

"No, I confirmed the body's identity through dental records. It's barbaric if you ask me. Pity to burn such a beautiful girl. He must have had something against her." He adjusted his glasses and looked at Roy. "Right?"

Roy stood and put his hands in his pockets. "I did what I was supposed to do. I followed orders."

"Next time you are following orders think twice about your powers will you Mustang? A gun would have sufficed. Put yourself in my place."

"It's been so long since I burned a body that I overdid it."

"I understand you were avenging your friend's death but for a hero of the Ishbalian war to go this far on a young girl." Knox turned back towards the exam room. "It makes me sick."

Roy sidled to the left when Armstrong bowed in front of him. "I apologize for the actions of my subordinate."

Roy raised his head. "There's no reason for you to apologize for her Major."

"I never thought she could or would ever murder a fellow officer. Second Lieutenant Ross was an honest . . . decent. . ." Armstrong clinched his fist and tried to hold back tears. "Caring hum…" He sat down and rested his head in his hands.

Roy paced over to him and rested his hand on the Major's shoulders. "You look tired Major. Why don't you take some time off? The east is really nice this time of year." Armstrong raised his head and looked quizzically in his eyes, getting that mustang was trying to transmit something importantly merely from his tone of voice. Armstrong knew Roy hated it out East.

"Is that so?"

"My vacation spot was away from the noise and there were lots of gorgeous women there. You should consider it." With those parting words he went down the hallway, ignoring the clangor behind him. The crash likely caused by one Fullmetal Alchemist.

* * *

**AN: I got a question a while back from a reader about if I have the manga here in front of me when I write but I don't think I ever answered. No, I don't keep the manga near me when I write. I remember a lot of the dialogue and things like that and I add my own but there's no references used for the story. **

**Thank you all so much for taking the time to read the chapter and please review if you have the time.  
**


	84. Shadow Tower

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Beta: Marxus Krieg  
**

**Chapter 84: Shadow Tower**

**AN: Please excuse any formatting mistakes. Tried to fix a few but not sure if i caught them all. Document editor is wonky.  
**

* * *

When Roy unlocked the door and entered his house, he was surprised to find himself on the receiving end of a happy canine greeting. He petted Hayate, happy to see the dog because if he was there then Riza was there. If that wasn't enough evidence then the smell of a home cooked meal wafting through the house affirmed his notion. He shut the door and removed his coat and jacket before walking into his tiny kitchen and saw Riza was pouring something into a large bowl.

"Beef stew?"

"Yes," she said without looking up from her task. "You've been losing too much weight too quickly."

"Ah, so you noticed too. Armstrong mentioned it in the locker room." He trudged into the living room and fell on the couch face first. This had been the most tiring evening he'd experienced in a long while. His body felt like someone injected starch in his veins and his cramping stomach and scratchy throat didn't make matters any better. He even felt guilty for not going into the kitchen to greet Riza with a kiss. A relieving groan left his lips when he felt two hands working at his shoulders, kneading out the tenseness with a firm massage. "That feels so good."

"I'm worried about you."

"I'll be fine. I just need some sleep. As much as I love your stew, I need it more than food."

"That's why you are losing weight. I understand that you've been moving nonstop all day."

Roy flipped over on his back and sat up to give her a quick kiss. "That's an understatement. I never want to see pork again. What time is it?"

"It's a little after nine." She skimmed her hand along his forehead and down to the side of his face. Roy closed his eyes and took a deep breath to get her scent into him, instead he got a whiff of food and his stomach growled.

"Damn organ."

"It's telling you that your body needs food worse than sleep. I know you're tired but at least have a few bites?"

Roy started to stand but she halted him. "I'll get it for you. Stay and rest." She stood.

"Where do you get your energy?"

"Good diet and exercise."

"Figured as much."

He heard dishes rattle and several thumps in the kitchen as she worked. Soon she emerged from the kitchen and handed him a bowl. She sat a class of milk on the table in front of him. "I put the leftovers in the fridge for you so be sure to eat them."

"I will. I'll never let this stuff go to waste," he said with his mouth full. She kissed the top of his head. "And drink your milk."

Roy's nose wrinkled. "I hate milk."

"If Edward knew that he'd have a field day."

Roy looked at her with widened eyes. "You wouldn't tell the brat would you?"

She shook her head. "Of course I wouldn't."

Roy directed his attention back to his food. He picked up the glass of milk and took a drink before cringing and sitting it down. "The only thing milk is good with is pizza."

Riza grinned and then kissed the top of his heads. "I'm going to go now. I just wanted to make sure you were fed properly."

"I eat," he protested.

"Yeah, like that's really evident."

"I had lunch toda—wait— no I didn't."

"Exactly. So I cooked since I knew you'd come straight home."

"Anyway, you can't leave yet. There's something important that I need to talk to you about." She sat down beside him. "I'll tell you after I finish eating. Damn this is good."

He hadn't realized he was so hungry until he ate his second bowl of stew and drank another glass of milk. Thanks to the nourishment he didn't feel as tired as he was before and promised that he'd eat better when he could. He wrapped his arm around Riza's shoulder and leaned back against the couch.

"What do you need to talk about?" she asked while leaning in closer to him.

"You aren't curious about how things went with Maria today?"

"Not really so much. If it went bad I would know it by your mood. I figure you'd tell me as much as I need to know."

"That's true. Anyway, you are going to be going on leave starting tomorrow afternoon. Havoc and Fuery won't be there in the morning as theirs was granted this evening."  
"Sir, we all cant' take leave like that. The office would be a war zone in—"

"Let me explain before you fly off the handle. You need to relax a bit Riza." He quickly kissed the top of her head. "I was thinking on the way here and figured out a way to lure out our enemy. We can see just how far up this incident goes. Now that Barry's made his appearance known, I'm betting the ones responsible will do whatever it takes to get him back."

"And what if you're wrong?"  
"I'm not."

"Sometimes I think you are much too confident in decisions you make"

"I am in most. The only thing that will be lost if they don't show up is a few days leave."

"You take things too lightly sometimes too."

Roy bit his tongue. Is it, be a pessimist toward Roy day, or something? "Don't you don't trust my judgment?" he asked instead of voicing his thoughts.

"If you have to ask that then you haven't been paying attention all these years. You know better. I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't' have said anything since, most of your plans do work out smoothly and I don't have any evidence to say otherwise."

Roy stared at her for a moment, blinked, then slouched in his seat and groaned.

"They didn't tonight."

Riza scooted away from his arm and turned to her right. "What do you mean? Did Maria get caught by someone else?"

"Worse."

Riza chuckled. "Worse? Did Edward show up or something?" Her laughing faded when Roy looked pointedly at her, affirming her words were true. "You're kidding?"

"Nope. Ed showed up right after I burned that fake corpse."

"How does that boy manage to be in the wrong places at the wrong time? Wait. If he was near Maria Ross then that means that he knows about Hughes."

"He's gifted in more than alchemy apparently. Bad timing must have been a side effect of the human transmutation." It was an obvious joke but a small portion of his brain actually contemplated the possibility for a split second. As cruel as it was to say, the toll those brothers paid still didn't seem like enough penance for human transmutation.

"Did you end up telling him the truth?"

"Things went pretty quick after that," Roy said, "he grabbed my collar."

"And you punched him didn't you?"

Roy smirked inwardly at Riza knowing that. "Of course, the only one allowed to do that is you when we're having rough se—"

She blushed. "Back to the issue Roy. He grabbed your collar, you punched him, and . . ."

"I apologized for keeping Hughes death a secret even though I don't really regret doing it."

"And Maria?"

"I let him believe the corpse was her. I never realized he was so attached to the woman for goodness sake. His knowledge regarding her will change though. I talked to Barry and apparently he broke someone else out from that prison. He's from Xing. Arrangements have been made to get Ross out of the country. I'm going to have Breda escort Ed and Armstrong there."

"Why don't you just let them believe that she's dead? Wouldn't that save a lot of unneeded hassle?"

"I need any information Ed has and I doubt he'd be very forthcoming with it if I kept the situation as is. Even if I order it. Breda is going to exchange everything there for the sake of safety and secretiveness."

"So I know where they are but where are the rest of us are going to be?"

Roy tensed. He didn't want to ask this of her since she was still fresh off her breakdown over Ishbal. It was dangerous from a strategic viewpoint as well because any flashbacks could render her useless. He studied her and scolded himself. Riza was a professional soldier, he needed to treat her the way he would any man in this situation. "I'll admit," he began as he tried to structure his wording appropriately, "I'm hesitant to ask this of you."

"Sir." The mere word was spoken with a scolding lilt.

"There's a tower outside of where Falman is staying. I need you there to keep an eye out."

"Sir, "Regardless of what happened with me concerning my . . . emotional release, I don't want you to hesitate in giving me any order that will assist in your goal. I'm less than useless if you do that."

He smiled. "My apologies Lieutenant. I wasn't implying that you were useless."

She got to her feet and placed her hands on her hips. "Well, in that case, we should get to bed."

His hearing perked. "We?"

"I'll leave at dawn. Unless you object that is."

Roy jumped up from the couch, shaking his head. "No, no, no objections. Not one. I always sleep better with you around."

"That's the only reason?"

He pouted and she laughed.

They unfolded the couch bed after moving the new coffee table she insisted he get. She undressed and donned one of Roy's shirts as he stripped down to his boxers. They lay down and cuddled under the warm blankets as Hayate leaped upon the foot of the bed and snuggled under the sheets at their feet. When Roy wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, it was like a sleeping pill that he needed to take. Right before he drifted off a thought hit him and he jolted into a sitting position, in turn making Riza yank up in concern for his sudden movements.

"What's wrong? Did you remember something important?"

"You're tattoo. I should take a look at it. I got a magnifier now around somewhere." He started to get out of the bed but Riza grabbed his arm and hindering his movement.

"Go to sleep Roy," she said.

"But."

"It can wait until later. You wouldn't be fully focused on studying it anyway since you're so tired."

Roy knew she was right, but he hated to keep putting off checking it the way he had been considering he actually found something new within the markings. He doubted it was something horrible but the fact that it was indeed hurting sometimes made him very uneasy. "I just—"

She kissed him. "It will be fine. It can wait a while longer. You need to rest."

"You're sure?"

"Yes," she said and drew him down to lie with her. He grinned and returned to his previous position with his face buried in her hair. This time he allowed himself to drift into sleep.

**/-/-/-/-/**

Roy waited until his other subordinates, the ones he didn't assign himself, were scrambling around the office like lab mice before he picked up the phone. He dialed the number Fuery gave him for the outside line he'd hacked into (via Falman's current location). He was worried about Riza, a normal feeling, and loathed at not being able to take action himself. Sitting in the office pencil pushing wasn't exciting at all and he craved for something more adventurous.

Ah the burdens of an Amestrian Colonel. He chuckled. That would be a good name for a memoir if he ever wrote one. The Burdens of an Amestrian Colonel, by Roy Mustang.

The phone rang one more time before Riza's voice came over the line. "Hello?" If he didn't know it was her, he'd question her identity. She spoke in a much higher pitch and made it more feminine than her regular speaking voice—in truth, it was a giant turnoff. Riza's understated demeanor and calmness was what made her so charming.

"Hello Elizabeth." He plastered a huge smile on his face, his fake one reserved for when he had to act in front of superiors or in other tense situations requiring a smile. "How are you?"

"Oh Roy!" She giggled. "I'm so glad you called. But aren't you at work?" She giggled again and Roy tried not to laugh. She sounded like a teenager talking on the phone to her girlfriends.

"Yes, I'm at work but I just had to hear your . . . unique . . . voice." He heard something snap, like a stick, and once again kept his laughter at bay. She was probably imagining that item was his neck.

"Oh, aren't you the slick one. Shouldn't you be doing your work though? If you don't that scary, capable of causing you intense bodily harm, Lieutenant will be angry with you. God knows what she might do to you in that case. It could be very painful."

Roy gulped and he heard her everyday chuckle, laced with malicious intent, sound for a second. He grabbed the glass of water on his desk and took a drink. He putting the glass back down, grabbed his pen, and coughed once. "Don't worry. She's off work today. I got so much work done this week that I told her to take the day off. She's an extremely capable assistant. Best officer in the military. Don't know what I'd do without her." While it was the truth, his main concern was keeping his extremities in tact.

"How nice of you to do that for her. I'm going to be stuck at the shop for a long time." She sighed. "I don't think I'll be going home in the near future."

**-/-/-/-/-**

Roy watched as his two temporary subordinates organized the paperwork on the other table. They were whispering and probably thought he couldn't hear them. They were wrong.

"How about that?" once of the men whispered, thinking Roy couldn't hear him.

"Yeah, I know. As soon as the Lieutenant takes a day off he calls someone to flirt."

"I guess the rumors are true about her being his babysitter."

Roy smirked. So he did have them fooled. Good.

When the two men left, Roy leaned back in his chair and put his feet upon his desk. "You know what?"

"What?"

"I really haven't had that much rest since coming to Central. People are even saying I'm losing weight and looking weaker. I've been thinking about taking some time off."

"Oh? What were you planning to do on vacation Roy?"

"I thought I might get some fishing done. I haven't been in a long time and there are some huge fish out there just itching to be caught."

"I see."

"Would you be interested in coming along with me?"

"I'm there." She said.

Roy smirked. "I drop by the shop to see you soon. Would you like me to bring you anything?"

"Oh, that would be wonderful! Could you bring something for Kate too? That girl has been working so ha—Oh, excuse me for a minute Roy." His hearing perked; something was happening. "Kate, could you call Jacqueline for me? We have a new customer."

Roy heard Fuery speak, "Okay." He cringed. Fuery's feminine voice sounded as if he got kicked in the testicles.

Riza was in a tower high above where Falman was staying with Barry. She kept her rifle pointed down to the area and watched as a warped looking man, Quasimodo coming to mind instantly, jumped through the window. After calling Jacqueline, she waited.

"What's going on?"

Riza was in a tower high above where Falman was staying with Barry. She kept her rifle pointed down to the area and watched as a warped looking man, Quasimodo coming to mind instantly, jumped through the window. After calling Jacqueline, she waited.

"What's going on?"

"Just a second Roy. This customer might leave without their items."

A moment later, she saw the men in the house burst through he doors and into the alleyway. Havoc fired but Quasi leaped towards him with hands outstretched, ready to kill. She fired. The bullet ripped through his hand and the monster leapt backward clutching his wrist.

"I heard a loud noise. What happened?"

"Oh, the customer was being mean to Jacqueline and I had to slap him."

"You're as strict as ever, Elizabeth. Your shop seems busy. Should I hang up now?"

"You're fine." She said then exhaled through her nose, creating a loud pfft. The men below were standing with the enemy out in the open. "Get back inside you idiots," she muttered.

"What's going on?"

"Looks like an argument. They are having trouble with the customer."

"Some customers just don't appreciate good service."

"Tell me abou—" She clinched her teeth as a searing pain washed over her back, far worse pain than when Roy burned it. She fell down onto her forearms and waited for it to pass. When she lifted herself back up, the pain a steady throb rather than burn now, she swallowed the acid pooling in her throat. It was a far worse pain the when she was around the fuehrer. Was he there with someone else like him? Darkness loomed over her like black clouds covering the sun. A shadow far too wide to belong to Bradley.

"I'll have to call you back." She said then swallowed again. "It looks like I've got a customer of my own."

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**AN: Hope you enjoyed it. Please review if you have the time. **


	85. Blood and Basement

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 85: Blood and Basement**

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The headset jerked off her head as she turned around and fired her rifle. The bullet slammed directly between the man's eyes. He jolted but didn't fall to his back like she expected he would. Her blood chilled when he straightened to an erect posture and looked at her with eyes pumped full of gluttonous greed. There were no signs of pain on his face and if he hadn't darted his tongue out to lick up the blood seeping from his injury, she would doubt he knew he'd been shot. His lips curved into a wide, thick toothed smile. "Goody goody, a fight before dinner."

**-/-/-/-**

Roy yanked his feet off the desk and leaned over the phone as if it would put him nearer to his wife. He needed to get to her! "Elizabeth! What is going on! Elizabeth! Damn you! Pick up the phone!" His heart slammed against his chest so harshly he thought it was going to rip out of him, and his palms were coated with so much sweat that he had to grip the phone tighter to keep it from slipping. He stood. Why wasn't she answering him! Roy squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, trying to banish the vision of Maes' funeral and the forever embedded bloodstains in the phone booth. His jaw clinched. No! Riza wouldn't die like Maes had. He froze up in that booth; otherwise he would have gotten away. Riza wouldn't freeze. She was far more battle attuned than Maes was. He had gotten soft. No. She wouldn't die.

When he heard more gunshots, his attempt at placating his nerves failed. "Pick up goddamnit!" He slammed the phone down on its base. To hell with their plan. He had to get to her! He sprinted out of his office and down the hallway to the staircase. He tore open the door and took the steps two by two until he got to the back exit. Two men were coming through the door and Roy pushed past them, not bothering to say any niceties. There was no time. If he were just a second late she could be dead. If she wasn't already.

He cursed his mind for its constant negative thinking and hurled the possibility of her death out of his head when he got to his car. The keys in his grasp rattled as he fumbled to find the one that unlocked the door. It took him two tries before he got the key in the lock. When he got into his car, it took another double try to get the key into the ignition. He sat back and took a deep breath, attempting to stay composed, before he turned on the vehicle and pulled out of the parking spot. He was lucky no cars were coming, since he had to pull out blindly thanks to a delivery truck parked in his vision. Ending up dead before he got there wouldn't do anyone any good.

As soon as he pulled through the gates he slammed on the gas and shot the car west. "Hang on Riza. Please don't die on me."

**-/-/-/-**

Riza flipped out of the way as the fat creature rushed towards her, he grabbed the edges of the window as if he would've fallen through the narrow opening. He paused. "Nice view." Riza got to her feet and inched toward the exit. She couldn't kill him alone and being in the enclosed space and shadows was definitely not in her best interest in this fight. He barreled in her direction and she dodged him again. Her wrist smashed against one of the tumbled stones residing in the tower and she felt it pop. She bit back a curse of pain and kept her guard up as he rocketed towards her again.

_ For someone so fat, he certainly can move! _

She drew her pistols when she found herself in the same area as before; poised in front of the window with him blocking any way out. She would have to hit him in any vital area possible and hope it stalled him enough for her to get the hell out of there. She fired as he came near her and never let up on the assault. Though he did jolt back once or twice, it did very little to keep him from looming over her then grabbing her in a choke hold. She drew the pistol out of her back holster and fired point blank range at his face until her gun was empty. It didn't faze him.

"That hurts." His grip tightened and fear overwhelmed her demeanor. She couldn't die, not yet. She had to be there for Roy! She figured her life would flash before her eyes before she died and she was right. Roy did. The world around her dulled then brightened, dulled, then brightened like a light before it extinguished forever. Her arm slackened at her side and the gun seemed to escape her hands on its own as she heard the dulled sound of it hitting the floor.

The monster tilted his head to the side. "That is all? You are done?" His voice was full of an almost childlike innocence and squeaky. Like one of those talking wind up dolls. Then he laughed, so psychotically that her body tried to force out a scream, only to be subdued by his compressing grip. "Can I eat you now?"

As his mouth closed in on her head, she saw a red tattoo sketched upon his tongue. His grip tightened even further and she closed her eyes and groaned. An animalistic, vicious growl sounded and the monster jolted and yelled. He slung her across the room and into the stone wall before she slammed against the floor. Every bone in her body groaned in protest as she forced herself to get up, her right wrist giving way slightly as she did so. She looked up and through her blurred vision she saw Hayate sinking his teeth into the back of the monster's neck. He leapt off his back and rushed towards her as she heard someone shout.

"Lieutenant! Here!" She looked to the door and caught the gun tossed to her courtesy of Kain Fuery. She stood on shaky legs and they both opened fire upon the monster as he whirled around them. The force of both guns sent him backward into the tight space of the window. When their guns clicked he righted himself.

"Out of bullets! Now time to eat." He took one step and a thick stream of fire shot between she and Fuery, slammed into the monster and propelled him through the wall in a fireball of stone and flesh.

"I almost didn't make it in time," Roy said and then released an exhausted sigh. Fuery rushed over to the hole in the wall and looked down as Riza turned her sights at Roy. Her eyes narrowed and a soft growl left her lips.

"Lieutenant," he said, "are you oka…why are you looking at me like."

"You are such a dumbass!"  
Roy's eyes widened and he stammered for a response but she continued on, keeping any reply that formed in his mind at bay. "Why in the hell did you leave the office? Regardless of what happened to us you shouldn't have come! The entire idea was to keep your involvement a secret but nooooo… you just come waltzing in here playing the big I'm Roy Mustang the hero! Are you really that much of an idiot!"

Roy cringed as her volume got to almost ear shredding levels with her final word. "Yes yes! So I'm an idiot. A complete idiot. I admit it. You happy now?"

"No!"

Fuery chuckled at the two officers. Sometimes he wondered if the two were married and just not telling anyone. He shook his head. Impossible. If those two were married Mustang would be dead already for sure. His amusing thoughts changed to one of more importance as she caught site of Barry chasing the filthy monster… thing. "Sirs! The target is on the move!"

Roy and Riza ceased their arguing and went into action.

"Fuery, clean up any evidence on the field. Make it look like no one was here."

"Yes Sir."

Riza looked at her dog. "Hayate, you stay with the Sergeant."

Hayate barked once.

Roy and Riza left the room and made their way down the stairs. Riza braced her wrist with one hand and with a quick pop, twisted it so it felt better.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

"No."

"I was worried about you."

A soft smile formed upon her lips. She was glad he came but also upset that he put himself in danger and at the risk of being discovered. "I'm fine."

Roy stopped at the bottom of the stairs, surprising her. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," she said. "Thank you for saving us back there. I'm sorry I worried you."

"What?"

"I said I'm sorry fo—"

"No, no, I heard that apology."

"Then why'd you—"

"You aren't going to apologize for yelling at me in front of the sergeant?"

She rushed past him and stopped at the door that led outside. She grinned. "We'd better hurry. Can't let Barry and Quasi get away."

He frowned when she moved out of his site but his expression soon turned to one of confusion. "Quasi?"

**-/-/-/-**

Roy pulled the car out of its concealed position and drove up the alley.

"There's Havoc," Riza said as she shifted in her seat, trying to get a little more comfortable even though their situation was anything but. Every muscle in her body hurt.

Roy drove the car up and braked next to Havoc as he stopped. "Where's the target?"

Havoc motioned his head in the direction of the chase-obsessed suit of armor. "Barry is following him."

"Get in," Roy said. Havoc opened the back door and practically threw himself inside the vehicle. Roy placed his foot on the gas pedal and was about to press when he heard his name called. He stuck his head out the window and saw Alphonse rushing toward them. He stopped beside Roy.

"This is all about Mr. Hughes murder, isn't it?"

Roy stared at the armor, the soul within it young but filled with more experience than the majority of adults in the world. He nodded. "You want to come?"

"Yes." He got into the back seat as Havoc scooted over.

As soon as the door closed, Roy slammed his foot on the gas and the car yank into movement, the tires throwing gravels and dirt in their wake. He carefully guided the car nearer to Barry when they arrived at his side. "Don't let him out of your sights"

"There's no way in hell. My soul won't be eased until I chop him into teeny tiny pieces."

"I don't know whether to be glad of that fact or a bit freaked out," Roy said.

Riza opened the glove compartment, her body protesting the quick movements, then took out a box of bullets and began to load her gun. "Do you think we'll get another appearance from fatty back there?"

"I seriously doubt it. I scorched him and he fell off the ledge."

Riza frowned. "And I shot him several times in the head but he didn't really give a damn."

Al shifted and leaned forward. "Hey, did he have an Ouroboros tattoo?"

Riza's thoughts briefly shifted back to the monster and the symbol she saw. "Yeah, he did. It was on his tongue."

"Then that means he's a homunculus too."

Roy's mind went haywire for a moment and he nearly crashed the car into Barry. "Damn it Mustang, watch where you're guiding that thing!"

"Oh, come on Al. A Homunculus? That's impossible, those things are just myths."

"I thought that too until I was kidnapped by one named Greed. He told me nothing was ever impossible. He said that anyone thinking otherwise was in for a mass of surprises."

"How do you know he was actually a homunculi and not just claiming it?" Roy made sure to keep his tone to one of cautious disbelief.

"I saw his head get chopped off and he regenerated as if it was nothing. And I saw a homunculi named Envy transformed from a dog to a man. If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. Both of them can have an incredible ability to regenerate."

"That's insanity."

"I can understand if you don't believe me. I wouldn't either."

"I have to," Riza said. "That monster was horrifying and did all that you described. He has to be a homunculi. There's no better explanation than that."

"Wait a minute! If that's the case then— I turned that guy into a bubbling puddle of grease back there. Are you saying that he could regenerate from that?"

"It's very likely that he already has."

Roy withheld a shudder. "Hughes was right."

"About?" she asked.

He chuckled and the right side of his lips lifted into a smirk. "This really is a huge circus of freaks."

Roy followed Barry along the winding roads until he came to a sudden stop; Roy had to screech the car to a halt. They all got out of the car.

"My body ran in there," Barry said. "It seems to think that it can hide from me."

They walked across the street to the building but didn't go through the gates. "The third lab huh. He ran straight into a military facility." Roy smirked. "It's just what I expected. All alchemical research facilities are under direct control of the Fuehrer. This is strong evidence of a military tie in."

"This is going to be good for blackmailing one of the higher-ups," Riza said.

Roy looked at her, his smirk widening into a shifty smile. "Exactly."

"You're so devious sweetie," Barry said.

"Stop calling her sweetie," Roy snapped.

"Jealous?" Barry asked.

Roy shifted when he heard Havoc chuckle. He coughed. "Anyway, now that we've located the hide out, let's pull back for now. We need to regroup and decide our next strategy."

"Yeah, you have fun with that. I'm going after my body!" Barry rushed through the gates and ran toward the building, his cleaver's blade flashing menacingly in the dim night lights.

"Hey! Get your ass back here!" Havoc yelled. "He's completely lost control."

"Well, I can't say this was what I planned but it's convenient. Guess this is our strategy."

"Huh?" Havoc said.

"Let's get going."

The group rushed after him and went inside the building. Roy removed the gun from his holster and pointed it skyward. When the staff saw them, some screamed while others scurried out of the way like rabbits that spotted a ravenous wolf. "Stay back," Roy yelled. "Everyone needs to evacuate this building immediately. A military operation is underway."

When the words left his mouth, people started filing through the exits, much calmer than they were during the group's initial appearance. They continued down the hall in the direction people were running away from. A military policeman approached Roy. "Um. . . Colonel Sir? Can we hel—"

"Stay back. The man that came through here is a deranged killer. My men will handle his capture. Order your men to seal off all exits after everyone is evacuated."

The group easily tracked Barry thanks to his clanking footsteps against the metal stairs leading down to the bottommost area of the building. They went through an old wire gateway and into a hallway branched to the right and left. "Let's split up," Roy said, turning to his wife. "You and Al go right but don't go too far. Retreat when you get a satisfactory amount of information about the layout. If you become too at risk, get the hell out of there."

She looked at him with hesitation, wanting to protest but restraining the desire. "Yes Sir."

"Um…I'm not going to be a hindrance to the mission am I?" Al asked.

"Of course not. You're alchemy is very dependable. Something beyond my control might happen and I'll be counting on you for support. I trust you." Her words actually surprised her but no matter how she thought about it, she did trust the young man. "Let's get going. "

She and Al took the right hallway while Roy and Havoc went left. Riza glanced back a few times, rethinking the fact she agreed to split up.

"He'll be okay Lieutenant" Al said.

"Huh?"

"The Colonel. He'll be all right. You seemed hesitant to go without him."

She looked up at the suit of armor and smiled. "It's the bodyguard in me. I know he'll be okay, but thank you Al." She was lying. She had tenseness in her body; one that usually that foretold of something bad happening. To make matters worse, that lull of nausea she got with gluttony and the fuehrer was present once again. And her back was burning.

* * *

**AN: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Sending the next one to my beta and it should be back soon. Please leave a comment if you have the time.**


	86. Burning Hell

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Proofreading: Marxus Krieg  
**

**Chapter 86: Burning Hell**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction.  
**

* * *

"Aw shit, I think I stepped in shit," Havoc said as his boot made contact with something squishy. He took another step and his foot slid against the concrete floor.

"We are in a basement Havoc, not a sewer. Though, the sewer should be right under us."

Havoc lifted his foot and saw a green slime, like seaweed, sticking to the bottom of his boot. He picked it off with his thumb and index finger. "Sure the sewer didn't back up into here?" He held up the slime and shook it.

Roy shrugged. "Not likely. You probably just stepped in some hospital waste that was discarded improperly. Maybe some sort of human innards gook."

"I think I'd rather it be sewage." Havoc wrinkled his nose and tossed it to his right. He moved to stand beside Roy and looked into the room he was examining so thoroughly."It looks like an explosion happened in here."

Roy shook his head. "No, there's no indication of an explosion. Not seat of explosion, no point of origin for a fire, no ashes. There'd also be more damage than this."

"Yeah. Then maybe… abandoned in a hurry?"

"Yes, that or there was a struggle with the group of whoever was working in here."

They entered the room, broken glass crunching under their feet every time they moved a foot forward. They leapt to the right when a piece of metal fell away from the ceiling and swing on a small hinge still attached. It swung twice before giving way and hitting the floor with a sharp clang.

"Damn, that was good timing to scare the shit out of me," Havoc said.

Roy walked over to a table, careful to avoid the large shards of leftover beakers and glass cases that once contained god knows what. He examined the rusted instrument tray littered with several types of scalpels, retractors, injection needles and calipers, all rustier than the tray itself. Turning to the right, he spotted a table with shredded straps used for restraint. The dirty wood was made even more such by dark splotches and burned edges.

"This could have been an autopsy room. It wouldn't be usual for a hospital to have one," Havoc said as his gaze followed in the direction Roy was looking.

"See any freezers? And they wouldn't need a table with straps that thick to hold a dead body." Roy raised a hand to his chin. "No, something else happened here and I don't like the feeling I get when I think about what that something is."

"You are as intelligent as the rumors say you are." A sarcastic laughed reverberated through the room. "How bothersome that Envy and Gluttony didn't manage to kill you before you got here. I guess I underestimated you." Roy and Havoc turned as a black haired, voluptuous woman emerged from the room in front of them. They leaped back, raised and cocked their guns. When she took another step, further into the small amount of light filtering into the room, Havoc had to force himself to keep his gun pointed at her.

"So…Solaris?" His eyes were wide like he was looking at a ghost rather than a woman.

"Oh, Jean. I thought we had something so special. I guess I was wrong again." Her lips quirked up.

Roy glanced at him. "You know this woman?"

"Yes, Jean and I are dating. Since he came to Central." She shifted her hips to the right and straightened her posture even more, reminding Roy of a cat that was trying to show off.

Roy motioned toward her with his heads. "She has an ouroborous tattoo."

Jean's eyes feel to the place between her breasts where the tattoo was located. "Yeah, it's the first time I saw that."

"Really? How weird. And you've been dating since you came to Central?"

"Well not everyone can get a woman in bed with just one stare," Jean said, then muttered, "You've had sex with Riza Hawkeye for goodness sake."

"It took more than a stare though," Roy mumbled.

The woman took another step forward and their eyes went to her breasts as they jiggled, almost like they were filled with jello. "I would say I'm sorry for deceiving you but I'm not." She repositioned her posture, intentionally making her breast bobble up and down yet again.

"Well I can see why you'd fall for her and was willing to wait," Roy said.

Havoc bit his lip and looked at her breasts longingly. "I know, but I just love big boobies."

Roy rolled his eyes. Legs are much better, he thought for a moment before forcing his mind back into seriousness. "How much did you tell her?"

"He didn't tell me anything. So tight lipped." She turned to him. "You were of no use to me. It's a pity really. If you'd opened your mouth more I might have let you do more things with those lips."

Roy half thought Havoc was going to drool but a serious look washed across the blonds face. "My love and work lives stay separate no matter what."

"Yes, and that is exceedingly annoying."

Roy pointed his gun directly at the tattoo on her chest. Despite the fact she was practically oozing sexuality from every pore of her skin and every gesture, he didn't find her all that attractive. She knew she was alluring, conceitedly so, and probably thought her looks would get her out of trouble. "Solaris is your real name?"

"Of course not. It's just an alias." She smiled at him and pursed her lips. "Do I look like I'd have such a name? My name is Lust. Much more fitting of me isn't it?"

"I know women it would fit better," Roy said. She growled and he focused his mind on his next question. "Did you know Maes Hughes?"

She ran her long fingers through her thick hair and shifted her weight to her other leg, jutting out her hip a bit more with the action. Raising her head, she licked her tongue over her lips and blinked her long lashes once. "Maes Hughes. He was such a handsome man. I could have had fun with him. Then I could have killed him myself. It was too bad."

Roy's jaw clinched and he fired. The bullet sank into her leg, making her fall to the ground. "On your knees!"

She placed both palms on the ground and slowly raised her head so that her eyes met his. "You aren't the first man to tell me that." She licked her lips once before smacking them noisily as if she was evening out her lipstick. "What do you want me to do while I'm down he—"

He shot her again. "Shut the hell up and tell me everything you know."

She started to stand. "Jean, are you just going to let—" He fired and she fell back down.

"I told you! On your knees!"

She leaped back and stood upright, albeit a little shakily. "It will take you being tougher than that to get me to stay on my knees." She smirked at him. "Want to try something more. I'll let both of you have at it." He fired three more shots, this time hitting her forehead, chest and stomach. Her heels slid backward across the floor hitting rubble and sounding like tires putting on their breaks. She straightened again and stuck out her tongue to lick the blood running down her face. "You're so hard. It's a real turn on."

"She's a monster," Havoc said.

"How cruel." She grabbed both sides of her chest, between her breasts where the bullet lodged, and pulled it open. A red stone nestled securely within her, the stone moving similarly to a human heart. It made a loud thump every so often, loud enough for Roy and Havoc to hear. With each thump, the burgundy veins attached to it constricted, bringing forth a sloshing sound.

"Is that…"

"The philosopher's stone? Yes." Lust smirked. "Want it don't you?"

Roy was horrified that these creatures could actually exist but the scientist in him was amazed at the fact she was indeed there. Contradicting thoughts usually gave him a headache but right now there was a rush of adrenaline in his system. "All this time, the philosopher's stone was actually…"

"This stone is my heart and this is how we were made."

"That still doesn't change the fact that you're a monster," Havoc said.

"Why? Because my inner anatomy is different? I have the same appearance as a human woman. I have the same five senses, same emotions, same desires,"-she flipped her hair and took a step -"same primal urges. I even have a parent. If anything we are human without the ability to procreate. And I'm. Well, I'm more desirable than any human woman. But that's just a gift."

Roy and Havoc took a step back. "So you reveal all of this to us now? That means you have no intention of letting us walk out of here alive right?"

"You're so smart Flame Man."

"And something important must lie ahead or you wouldn't be here in the first place," Roy continued.

"Possibly." Roy smirked.

"And I'm going to find out exactly what that is."

"Are you?" She swiped her nails in front of them. They leaped back in time to avoid the hit to their bodies but Roy's gun was another story, her long extended fingers cut the barrel as easily as a knife cutting through butter. Roy dropped his gun and pulled on his glove.

"Havoc! Cover me—"

"Too late," she said and cut a water pipe above their heads, water poured down, drenching Roy and Havoc. "It's not very sexy to be useless when wet. Unless you are involved in other matters." She started swiping at them, left hand then right, picking up debris, plates, rattling glass and barely missing their heels as they ran to the door.

They skidded outside and moved to the right and left of the door, Roy shook off his hand to release some water from the glove. "Stupid bitch underestimates me. I hate that." Roy raised his hand and showed his transmutation circle. "Where there's water, there's hydrogen and I can create as much flammable gas as I feel like." He slammed his hand into the water. Red sparks coursed through the liquid and engulfed the floor around her. Havoc flipped opened the lighter and threw it into the room. An explosion rocked the room as fire and smoke, and rubble shot out of the doorway. "Mix a monster and water together in a damaged room add alchemy and a lighter and you get Bitch Flambé."

Havoc and Roy waited until the smoke dissipated before they entered the room. Havoc walked over to pick up his lighter and groaned. "Aw Man, my ex gave this to me. It was my favorite. He tried to light the cigarette in his mouth and when the lighter wouldn't work he turned to Roy. "Think you can give me a light?"

Roy narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to get your ass kicked?"

Havoc laughed nervously. "Never mind."

They were especially mindful of their steps as they walked further into the room. Havoc sighed. "This was by far the worse break-up I ever had. You literally broke her up!"

Roy moved his lips like there was lip balm on them. "No, I incinerated her. I can taste the fat on my lips."

"Something you learned in Ishbal?"

Roy nodded and looked away from him. He didn't want to think about that as he was focusing on this important task. "Be alert. We don't know if she's going to regenerate—" A scream ripped through Havoc and Roy jerked around. The woman's fingers were sticking up from the ground and stabbed all the way through his torso. His blood crept down her nails as if taunting him of Havoc's likely death. He coughed and blood fountain from his mouth, too much blood. Far too much. "Havoc!" Roy yelled and rushed to the man as the nails left his body and the woman rose from the ashes, reminiscent of a demon from hell. Roy grabbed his shoulders. "Havoc, keep it together."

"I have—" More blood emerged from his mouth in a cough, vomit mixing with the blood after a moment. The smell was metallic and sour and if he hadn't smelled far worse, Roy would have vomited himself. Instead, he grabbed the shotgun Havoc dropped and fired several times at the woman.

"You'll have to do more than that to save him Roy Mustang!" He threw the gun down and rushed her. She slammed against the glass and metal littered floor. He braced her right arm with his hand and her right with his foot.

"Oh I fucking know how to save him. He punches his hand between her breasts, and yanked out the stone, eliciting a shrill from her. "Your stone has the ability to amply alchemical transmutation. I'll be using this to save him!"

She evanesced into ashes as Roy stood and rushed over to Havoc. "Hang on," he said and raised the stone up to shoulder level. "I'm no expert in healing alchemy but this stone might supplement what I do know and—" The stone thumped and sizzled in his hand. He turned his head. The woman was reforming around it! Her veins, tendons, bones and skin swirled around and formed a body, bringing forth sickening gurgles, sloshes, and slurps.

She raised her head, her eyes still not formed but the sockets visible. "If don't mind if you grope me but it would be polite to ask first."

Roy jerked his hand away and stumbled back. "What the hell!"

"I told you. The stone is my heart." She bolted forward and pinned him against the wall.

His teeth clinched so hard that he thought they cracked and if his tongue had been between them he would have bitten it in half. He bit back a scream when her fingers sliced through his side and pain ascended up his body in unfluctuating spasms. He never realized how much life really did flash before one's eyes when they were about to die. Riza came to his mind. No, he couldn't let himself die yet. He still had so much he wanted to do with her. He'd promised her far too many things to die now.

Lust jerked her fingers out and let him fall to the ground, but kept hold of his hand. It hurt to breathe, he couldn't move, and with one more hit, he'd be dead. He was fucking useless. _Roy dammit, you can't die. Not yet. Not when there's so much you have to do! Riza. Think of Riza._ _Think of avenging Maes. Think of anything to survive! Don't give up!_

"I guess human wouldn't be accurate since we aren't as weak as you. We're more of an improved version of humanity." She cut off his glove and let his hand fall to the ground and onto a pile of glass, sending pain from his palm up to this shoulder like streams of lightening. "It's really a pity I have to let a human sacrifice die."

_Just kill me. I'm sorry Riza. Wait… let die? _

When she reached down to run her fingers along his jaw he wanted to spit in her face. "You're such a handsome one too." She licked the thin line of blood across his cheek and then kissed his lips.

He jerked away and spit. "Hands off bitch."

"Ever faithful," she snarled as she seared her gaze into his. "Oh well, I have to exterminate the other little mice scurrying around." She stood straight. "I definitely have one little blond mouse I want to shred in mind."She walked away from him and he summoned up the strength to get to his knees but only for a moment before he faltered. His face hit back down onto the filthy floor. "Now die like a good boy. If there's a hell your"—Lust laughed and brushed her hair behind her shoulder—"wife will be burning there with you shortly. Meanwhile enjoy watching your subordinate bleed to death."

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**AN: There was more formatting issues with submitting this document than I'm used to having. I straightened it out paragraph by paragraph but I probably missed something so please excuse that. Thank you for reading and please drop a review my way if you have the time.**

**My friend Riri has made a trailer for this arc with Lust. The link to that and a few other Royai videos are on my profile.**


	87. The Echoes of Death

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 87: The Echoes of Death  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA and gain no profit from this other than writing practice.**

**An: Warning. LOTS of cursing in this chapter. **

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After walking for a while in shadows accompanied by the scent of sewage, the occasional rattle of Al's armor, the sound of her own echoing footsteps; Riza was relieved when she spotted brighter area ahead of them. Though not much of an improvement, now it wouldn't be as difficult to see the gun in front of her. As she arrived closer and closer to the light, another odor overpowered the stench coming from the vents at the edge of the walls. It was a scent she detected when she woke up from the nightmares of Ishbal, one ingrained in every pore of her skin and stuck to every hair; she'd never forget she was once the cause of its presence.

They walked into the bright room, and the source of the stench became apparent. Barry's corpse lay in front of the door on its side, blood and black infection leaking out from the wounds in its flesh.

"Sorry ya had to see this babe," Barry said. "My body went and rotted on me before I could cut it up. Pity."

"Why'd it rot if it was alive?"

"They slammed someone else's soul into my body. Guess my body didn't like it and rejected it."

"Sort of like a body rejecting a blood transfusion," Riza said.

"Something like that yeah. But that Colonel is better at all that mumbo jumbo than I am. I just chop em up. I don't give a damn how they're made, ya know?"

She looked at Al when she saw him stiffen and rested a hand on the cold armor— made even colder by the cool dampness of their surroundings. "Al are you—" She pushed him and leaped out of the way when a cramp shot through her back. Something like that monster in the tower was coming. From now on her body was radar as far as she was concerned. She twisted to face the door and saw a tall, curvy woman standing before them. Not a strand of her black hair was out of place and her purplish lips formed into a snarl. Al moved closer to Riza as Barry jumped in front of her.

"Well if it isn't the psycho bitch," Barry said. He looked at Riza. "Babe, this lady is nuttier than squirrel shit."

The woman folded her arms across her chest and brought her head downward, looking up at him through her long dark lashes. "You!" she screeched. "They used you as bait!"

"Yep," Barry replied.

"What a ridiculous idea!"

"But you fell for it, didn't you Lame-ass Lusty?" he said with a sing-song tone.

"Why in the hell are you helping them?"

"I do whatever I want, when I want. And I want to chop you into tiny bite size pieces!"

The anger faded off her face and she laughed; the elegantly evil sound enough to prove Barry's comment about her. "Chop me up? How interesting. If it were any other time, I might be into some sadistic play. Right now, work has to come first. She slithered forward, like a cobra about to strike its next meal. "Besides, now you definitely don't have the equipment. Not like that sexy colonel."

Riza noticed the woman glance at her for a second. Was the comment meant to bait her? Wait, if she knew about the colonel then she knew Roy was there…or had already fought him. If it was true and she was there, uninjured, that meant . . . No. No, she refused to let that enter her mind. Maybe he encountered her somewhere el—she threw yet another useless thought out of her head. She wouldn't be baited into being jealous. It was pathetic at a time like this.

"What am I going to do with you?" Lust said to Barry.

Barry lifted his hands as if he were being robbed. "What? You mean you actually have to think about it?"

She smirked and chuckled. "No, I suppose I don't. But you just had to bring armor boy with you. I don't mind killing the blond bitch, as much as I would like to do more interesting things to her first." Lust licked her top lip quickly and Riza cringed. "With destroying Elric here—damn, I didn't want to kill two human sacrifices in one night. It's going to be such a setback for us."

"Human sacrifices? Two of them?" Al asked. He looked at Riza then back at Lust. "What do you mean?"

"Let me kill the blond pest first then I'll tell you," she said. When she turned her sights to Riza, Barry dashed forward with his cleaver raised and **r**eady to strike into her skull with all his strength.

"Are you fighting me to save her or just to chop me up? I wonder." With one move of her hand the cleaver fell from his grasp, and with another swipe he was gone. Shattered into pieces of metal. Falling to the floor with reechoing clangs and clinks. She kicked his head out of her path as she approached Riza and Al. "I just hate rude men. Don't you Mrs. Mustang?"

Al turned toward Riza when he heard the comment. She was too shocked to respond to his actions. How did this woman know about her and Roy? Just how deep did all this chaos run into their personal lives?

"What's she talking about Lieutenant?"

"What?" Lust said in mock surprise. "You don't know? Why Lieutenant? You and the hubby are so good at keeping secrets. Since you are such a loyal subordinate and wife, it will be fitting for you to join your husband sooner than later. Right?"

Her body stiffened and her eyes stretched until they quivered and burned. _Join?_ "You . . . you said two human sacrifices in one night. Wh . . . What in the hell do you mean!" Her voice echoed so loud she could still hear it in her mind after the resonance in the room faded.

Lust's laugh replaced Riza's echo. She hated it. She hated that damned laugh that bespoke something happened to her husband. "Just as I said. Two sacrifices. You've clearly figured out who the other is. He should be dead by now. You were a very lucky woman to have him every night." Her smile widened into one of unspeakable, sadistic pleasure as she raised her hand. Her long fingers extended into sharp, glistening blades that ached to feel her blood thickly coating them.

Riza's heartbeat accelerated and the hair on the back of her neck and arms stood on end. The nausea she was already experiencing because of the woman increased to the point a lump formed in her throat full of acids and gall. She forced it down with a swallow so she could speak. "There's no way he could lose to you. There's . . . no way. .. can't happen . . . That can't happen!" Her throat tightened.

"But it has."

She shook her head again and again. "I can't lose him! I can't!"

She opened fire, emptying shot after shot into Lust's flesh, each bullet filled with horrific rage. For the first time Riza enjoyed shooting someone. Every single fucking hit of the every single bullet was unadulterated ecstasy. This woman was going to suffer for killing-Roy-he was…

Her bones felt like they were forged of pure steel and her body felt as if someone was guiding her with a remote control. Roy gone and she was alone in the world. She couldn't live without him. She couldn't function knowing that he wasn't going to wake up the next day. That she'd never see his sweet smile, his smirk, or be able to lose herself in his dark eyes again.

Her mouth opened and shuttered before she screamed, "You bitch!" When the gun she held emptied and Lust still stood, she jerked another gun from her back holster and released another onslaught. Everything in her world blurred except the bitch in front of her. Reality didn't exist. Nothing existed except the desire to shoot her full of holes and watch her bleed to death. She screamed out her horror, the shrillness of her yell loud enough that it intermingled with the bang, crack, bang, crack, of every bullet that left her pistol's barrel. With each shot the woman stumbled back a step but never fell to the ground. Never died.

_Why won't she die? Why? The bitch deserves it! Die die die! Goddamn it! Die you bitch_! Then her gun clicked. Empty. _I don't even have a damn bullet to kill myself with._ She struggled for breath and left her mouth open to try and increase the amount getting to her lungs. She could taste the corpse stained air on her tongue, wishing it were the wench in front of her instead of Barry.

Lust raised her head with a pleased smile. "Are you done having your hissy fit? Or maybe you are going to break out another gun to kill me with?"

Her wrists stiffened like rigor mortis had set in and the gun fell from her grasp. Her knees shook before giving away and hitting the ground. Even though she tried to hold back the tears, they came anyway. With them her breathing became more erratic and hiccuping sobs joined in. She didn't want the bitch to see her cry.

_I just want to die. Just kill me_. She despised that the woman would get the joy of killing her, but in the end it didn't matter as long as she didn't have to reside in a world without Roy Mustang in it.

"You humans are so pathetic," Lust said. She raised her arm to strike Riza. "Tell your husband I said…" Al moved between Riza and Lust.

"Lieutenant, you need to get out of here now!"

Riza looked up at him. "Al, what are you doing?"

"My question exactly. Don't be in such a hurry to die. You'll get your turn."

He slammed his hand on the floor. Streams of blue and white flames and light moved like a forming tornado and through the middle, out of the ground, emerged a large spear.

"So you opened the portal? Well, if you run now I might let you live. It would be a—"

"No chance!" Al belted forward, spear pointing straight at her heart. She sliced it in half as easily as sharp shears cutting thin fabric. He threw the pieces to the side, lifted his arms, and took a direct hit from Lust's knifelike fingers. "Go Lieutenant. You have to get out of here," he yelled as Lust struck him again.

"Shut up boy and move out of my way. Can't you see that this pathetic woman wants to die? She has nothing. She's worth nothing!"

"You're wrong. She is important to me and my brother."

"Alphonse, get out of here now! Save yourself and leave me."

"No! I won't let you die. I won't lose anyone else! I'm sick of seeing people I care about die because I was too weak to save them."

"That's exactly what I want to hear Alphonse Elric."

Riza's eyes widened and tears stopped when she heard Roy's voice. Was he really still alive or was she going mad? _God if you are really up there please let him be alive. Don't fool me. Please god, please. Please let it be him!_

Lust whirled toward the door her face covered with surprise. Al hit the ground again and a giant stone wall flew up in front of them, blocking Lust from view. He grabbed Riza and drew her to his body as a mammoth explosion erupted beyond the barrier. She felt the heat from the flames with each fiery blowup and sweat immediately covered her skin. She didn't care.

"He's…He's…"

"He's alive," Al said, surprisingly audible to her thanks to his close proximity. She was more worried about Roy than herself. Was he injured, was he going to be okay. What if he died while she was hiding behind this barrier? No, he could handle that bitch. She knew it.

_So why did you doubt it before like an idiot?_

Lust shrieked as burst after burst of flames engulfed her body. When the onslaught stopped, she snarled at him. Half of her face was ashes and her arm was gone. "You should have bled to death. How are you still standing?"

Roy placed his left hand against the scar at his side. "I seared the wound closed. I almost passed out in the process but I'm lucky you half-assed your job!" He made sure to punctuate his hate directly into her eyes through his gaze. Then fire devoured her. "You should have waited until I died, or finished me off." He flicked the lighter in his right hand again, his voice growing louder with each release of flames.

"How are you doing that?" She looked at his hand and saw he'd sketched a transmutation circle there with his blood. Her eyes widened. She released a blood curdling scream and launched forward only to be knocked back against the stone with a wave of flames.

"You injured my subordinate; nearly killed me; and then you torment my wife!" He snapped and she screeched. "No on messes with my family!"

Lust fell to her knees and he took a step. He loomed over her like the shadow of a devastating storm about to obliterate those in its path. She was scared and he loved it. "You said it would take more than a few flames to kill you." His voice lowered and his eyes darkened. "I'm keep killing you until you stay dead you fucking cunt!" He clicked the lighter again. Her hand shot out from the flames; the tip of her finger stopped a few centimeters away from his nose. A guttural groan left her as her eyes met his, conveying to him that she was done with her "life".

"You win," she croaked. Her hand began turning to ash, starting with the finger closest to Roy. "If I had to die, I'm glad it was by your hands. Those eyes," she fell back, "I look forward to when they are filled with torment and you feel the full brunt of hell upon you. When you lose her." Her flesh dissipated, leaving nothing behind but ash.

Roy squeezed his eyes shut and tried to force himself to remain standing. He took a step, faltered, and fell onto his side. His energy was gone.

"Roy!"

He grinned. That voice, he loved that voice. Riza rushed out from behind the barrier and knelt at his side. She moved his head so it rested on her lap, and his body relaxed. He opened his eyes and mustered a smile before he reached up and stroked a tear residing on her cheek with his thumb.

"I'm so glad you're alright." His voice was raw as he spoke.

"Forget about me," she said.

"Never," he replied then directed his gaze to Alphonse. "I can never thank you enough for protecting her."

"Forget about that! We have to get you to a doctor."

"Yes, Havoc is hurt badly. He needs a doctor."

The concern for her friend was overshadowed by a burning through every inch of her tattoo and cramps in every muscle she had. She grabbed her stomach and nearly lurched.

"Riza?"

Riza clinched her teeth and waited for the pain to subside. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears. Lust was dead. Was there another one of those monsters around?

"Riza, are you okay?"

She snapped back from her thoughts and looked to the door, squinting to see if something was still in the shadows waiting to strike. When satisfied there wasn't —though not entirely such— she shook her head. "It's nothing. I'm fine."

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**AN: This chapter was hard to write. I went through three drafts before I got it the way I wanted it. Hope you enjoyed it and please leave a comment if you have the time.**


	88. Stupidity

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 88: Stupidity**

**AN: Honestly, I went through so many ideas for this (and the next two) chapters but then the characters took over and I was like "wtf this wasn't in my outline" by the time I finished typing. If you're a frequent writer then you likely have had those character hijacking moments. Hope you enjoy it. **

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Riza had to stop at the double doors as the medical personnel wheeled Roy and Havoc into the emergency rooms. Alphonse, though she told him it wasn't necessary he come, stayed with her throughout the ambulance ride and the journey into the hospital.

"Shouldn't you get checked out Lieutenant?"

She gave him a reassuring smile. "No, I'm not hurt." She wasn't sure that was true, considering Gluttony choked her and then threw her against a wall. Her body ached, her neck was sore, and her mental state about as stable as a table with two legs.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I'll be okay."

Riza and Al's focus moved to the door when a nurse emerged. "You accompanied Mister Havoc and Mister Mustang here?"

"Yes," Riza said.

"Both are in surgery now and won't be out for a few hours. Before we put him under sedation Mister Mustang asked us to tell you to go home and get some rest."

Riza stiffened. How in the hell did he expect her to rest with everything that happened? She wouldn't be able to sleep while they were in surgery.

"Do you need to be examined by a doctor? You look disheveled."

"No, I'm okay. I wasn't in the middle of the situation."

"I see. Very well then," the nurse said and walked away.

Al turned toward the exit. "I'll walk you home Lieutenant."

Riza sat down on one of the many chairs lining the hallway, her body thanking her for the relief of being off her feet. "I'm not going anywhere Al."

"But he colonel said—"

"I rarely listen to the Colonel."

"But you can't stay here all night. The Colonel is just looking out for you." His concerned tone was growing more expressive with each word he spoke.

"Al, if that was your brother in there, what would you be doing?"

She expected the younger Elric to either walk away, or stay there and be quiet, but he argued instead. "But I don't have to rest. If I had to, if I had a body I would want to make sure I was taking care of it so I could take care of my brother when he needed me."

He was right. She was exhausted and with her energy reserves in their current state, she'd be useless if something else were to happen.

_Just like you were useless with lust you sniveling weakling._ She pushed back her damaging self-critics and stood.

"Alright. I'll go home." She turned and made her way out of the hospital. She didn't notice the clang behind her, Al's steps, until she got to a quieter part of the city, halfway to her apartment building. Each thump and clank wound up the tension in her body. She stopped. "I appreciate your offer to walk me home Alphonse, but it's not necessary."

"I know, I just want to."

"I'm not helpless!" Her tone earned a gasp from Alphonse. She felt tears forming in her eyes. Her exhaustion was running amuck on her emotions. She looked up at Al, and though she knew he couldn't feel her touch, placed a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry Alphonse."

"Don't worry. It's okay." She started walking and Al followed beside her.

"You're tired and I just want to make sure you make it home. I'm not walking with you because I think you're helpless Lieutenant."

She lowered her head. "I am weak Alphonse. I shouldn't have risked you like that. I should have fought and not let my emotions get in the way. When I was younger I would have."

"I think you should—" he cut off his sentence as if afraid to go on.

"Al, please don't be afraid to say what you want."

"I think you shouldn't have given up. My brother did when Scar attacked us. Just to save me. But really it would have done more harm."

"The situation was different." Riza tried to make herself believe that to be the case even though it wasn't. The two events were similar, and no level of denial could over cloud that fact. She looked at him again to make sure she wasn't indeed talking to an adult. She respected that he knew so much, but pitied he was so knowledgeable at the same time. Too young to possess such a burdensome responsibility and knowledge.

"No, it wasn't. Not much. Ed gave up his life to save mine; you gave up yours because the Colonel was gone. If I'd been in your place, and don't tell him, but if I were in Ed's place, I think I would have done the same. I relate to the Colonel in this situation, but I can see both sides. He cares about you a lot. He'll probably be angry that you just give up."

Riza squeezed her eyes shut, her mind growing too weary to talk much anymore. "Probably."

"Um… Are you and the Colonel really married?"

She opened her eyes and focused ahead. Her building came into sight. "Yes, we are. Sort of. Depends on how technical you get when it comes to marriages."

"So no one else knows then? I know it's dangerous and there are laws in the military about it."

"Just my best friend Rebecca and Havoc. I don't know how the homunculi knew about us."

"So Mister Hughes he…"

She stopped a cringe before it happened. That was one of the rougher spots in their marriage. "We agreed Ro…the Colonel could tell him, but he didn't get a chance. Al, you know its—"

"I won't tell. Not even brother." Al rubbed the back of his "neck". Especially not brother."

Riza chuckled. "Thank you."

-/-/-/-/-

Riza entered her apartment and locked the door behind her. Thankfully, she'd kept her keys in her deep pockets instead of her locker at headquarters; otherwise, she'd have to wake up her landlord to let her in. The woman was a stickler about her beauty rest, and Riza would see an extra maintenance fee in her rent. When Hayate moused towards her, she knew the dog recognized her mood was less than congenial. She smiled at her canine companion and kneeled in front of him. A hiss left her lips as a stabbing slammed into her side. Hayate looked at her with a tilted head.

"I'm fine boy." She scratched him behind the ears, noting Hayate didn't seem convinced. "Let's go get something to eat." She straightened and twitched at the ache as she made her way into the kitchen. She made a quick dinner, took a hot bath, took two pain pills, and crawled into her bed. She felt the bed dip with Hayate's weight, and her feet warm up when his fur made contact with her skin.

Riza closed her eyes and willed herself to banish her thoughts and fall asleep without any trouble. It was foolish of her to think she could do such. She squeezed her eyes tighter, squinted enough that her focus was on holding them that way rather than drifting off into the sleep like she wanted.

How could she be so dumb? How could she believe the enemy the way she had? Did she have so little faith in Roy that she would believe a woman like that had killed him? Another part of her brain kicked in and argued with her. She destroyed Barry the chopper with one slash of her freakishly long nails. She'd nearly sliced Alphonse into pieces; yet, another thing for her to feel guilty for. Al protected her when she should have been protecting him.

She cursed and sat up on the edge of the bed. Hayate slid closer to her and nuzzled her lap. She smiled and scratched his head once before standing and going into the bathroom. She went to her medicine cabinet. After shifting numerous lotions and perfumes aside, she found what she was looking for and opened the bottle. She popped two of the sleeping pills in her mouth, downed them with a large glass of water, then went and lay back down. This time Hayate snuggled closer to her back as if trying to give her a warm fur hug.

She wished Roy's arms were around her. His hold and his scent always comforted her. _You depend on him too much. Stop it._ Even though said to come to him when she needed him, she wouldn't anymore. That day proved she needed to rely on herself a bit more, especially in times of battle. She had to disconnect with the rest of the world and focus on surviving if he wasn't around.

Her thoughts didn't continue as her sleeping medicine kicked in along with a painful jolt in her stomach. She disregarded its repeated pricking, her body much to weary to bother moving into a different position to see her aching would dull. She remained motionless and her body fell into sleep.

-/-/-/-

Lust pinned her against the floor, smiling wickedly as Roy's blood seeped into her clothing, leaking from his body parts scattered around her. His head was disconnected from his body, eyes staring lifelessly at her as blood ran from their corners. She could already smell his body rotting in the hot environment.

"Roy," she groaned, her voice muffled by a thick substance rising into her throat. She coughed and her blood erupted from her mouth like a fountain. It descended and covered her face and neck, and the floor under her; mixing with his blood already present there. This was all because of her incompetence. She was the cause of his death and now her own.

"Would you like to be cut into pieces like hubby here? I'll even mingle them well enough so you can rot together." She grasped and clawed against the smooth floor, trying to rise up. She couldn't surrender even if he were gone. She was dying, of that there was no doubt, but she'd be damned if she'd let that woman survive.

A weapon. She just wanted something, anything to kill her with. But she couldn't move. She had to move! Lust raised her hand and stabbed down. Just as her long nails sank into Riza's throat, she jolted upward from her place in bed.

Riza reached up to touch her face; it felt wet and sticky. Her bangs were plastered to her forehead and her hair clung to the back of her neck. Her shirt stuck to her skin as if it were part of it. Her body ached like it had in the dream. The same sting in her throat, the same anguish and nauseousness in her stomach, the same ache in her bones.

She moved to stand up from the bed, and her entire world jolted forward like someone was putting on the breaks. When her knees started to fail her, she grabbed the bedside table hard enough that the glass resting atop it tipped off the edge and crashed to the floor. Hayate followed her as she stumbled into the bathroom, holding tight to the wall to keep her stability. She was barely able to feel it under her hands.

She fell down onto the cold floor, her stomach lurched, and she practically threw herself towards the bathtub instead of the toilet. It was closer. The sickening sour smell that wafted to her nose only serving to jerk up more of her dinner and empty her stomach.

When she felt it was safe to sit up, she turned and rested her back against the side of the tub, relishing in the feel of the cool metal against her back and the cool floor under her. She looked down when something soft landed on her legs. Hayate was sitting beside her and a washcloth was sitting on her lap.

_He's a human reincarnated as a dog. He's got to be._ She grabbed the edges of the bathtub and tried to lift herself to her feet. Her arms faltered and she fell, her tailbone hitting harshly against the hard surface. She grit her teeth against the pain, and tried once again and failed. She finally succeeded in getting to her feet on the third go.

She hazarded a guess to the location of the sink from where she was. The room was spinning around so rapidly that everything was a blur. When she got to the sink, she bent low and felt around for the faucets until she found them. She turned one on and stuck the cloth under the water.

"Fuck!" She threw the washcloth down and jumped back. Her arm hit the shelf behind her. It fell forward, all of the items falling off, before it crashed to the floor. She gave a short chuckle before her body went into a constant laugh, not expressing happiness, but sheer choler. She was so angry that she couldn't do anything else. She fell back against the wall and slid down to the floor, her eyes closed and her laughter continued like she was insane.

She heard Hayate bark once and ceased her laughing. Then found something wet on her lap. She felt the area and realized he'd placed the now cool washcloth there. She grabbed it, and covered her face with the wet fabric. "Fuck." It was rare of her to use that word, but it was the only one that came to her mind.

She stiffened as another series of spasms flowed from the top of her toes to the top of her head, and took special care to put more pressure against her bruised ribs. After removing the cloth from her face, she ventured to open her eyes. The room was still moving but at a less frantic pace. To her right, she saw where she'd knocked over the makeshift shelf. Hayate sat beside it, his eyes glued on her with a worried seriousness that would've brought a smile to her lips if she didn't feel so lousy. She wretched again, her body yanking with the action, but nothing came from her body.

She took a ragged breath, and forced herself to her feet. She leaned against the sink and wet the cloth again, this time with cool water, before navigating around her mess of a bathroom and back into her bedroom. She reached up and checked to see if she were wearing a bra; it might explain why it felt like someone was weighing her chest down with bricks. When finding there wasn't one, she stumbled over to the bed. She discarded her clothing and crawled onto the soft surface. The room was getting too hot. She lay on her stomach and groaned. When she began to shiver and sweat, she knew she needed to get help.

_As __if the other things didn't already clue you in. _

She sat up, her body still quivering and shaking so much she could barely slip the shirt over her head. She stumbled out into the hall and to the phone as the world around her returned to its duty as an all-encompassing carousel. She went over to the phone and looked down at the numbers. She didn't know the number for an ambulance there in central so she dialed the first number that came to her head.

A woman's voice came over the phone. "Hello? Christmas's Bar."

"Christmas…" Her vision flashed like a camera shutter.

"Elizabeth, is that you? Why are…"

"I need your he…p." She had to get the words out. She couldn't lose consciousness yet.

"Riza dear, what's wrong!" she could hear the woman's voice turn alarmed.

"Hel..." Riza felt her body weakening and her lungs felt heavy. "Elizabeth are you at your place? I'll be over!"

"Ye...s" she managed to speak before collapsing.

"Elizabeth? Elizabeth! Riza!"

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**AN: Thank you Renegade, I hope you enjoy your re-read. XD Big thank you goes to my best friend Riri for letting me vent about this chapter when it was being a pain. **

**Really hope you enjoy it and please drop a review if you have the time.**


	89. To Be of Use: Pt 1

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 89: To Be of Use: Pt 1  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. **

**AN: As always the site's document manager messes up my formatting. I hope I've fixed everything.  
**

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Riza hated to depend on others to do what she was capable of doing, even when she was incapable of doing whatever the thing was. Her eyebrow twitched. Especially when the thing she was incapable of doing was because of a colossal mistake on her part. One of many she'd made recently.

"I didn't think I could ever do something so stupid," Riza said as Christmas and Vanessa helped her through the back door of the bar.

"Oh poo! Don't be so silly. Everyone makes mistakes." Vanessa spoke with a girlish dismissive manner. If Riza hadn't known her well enough, she'd think the woman was belittling her.

"Mistakes that almost kill them?"

"Of course. I had a life changing incident with an eggbeater once."

"A life changing incident . . . with an egg beater?"

"Yes, totally. You see I was hungry and Riri was making yummy cookies. You know how good cookie batter is. Well, I stuck my tongue to the beater so I could taste the batter while Riri was still moving it around. It hurt! So no worries. You aren't dumb at all."

Riza's chest stabbed with pain when a laugh left her. _Wow, that almost makes me feel better._

"Riza, you are under a lot of stress. Far more than a normal person or even a normal soldier. Helping Roy with everything, work, watching his back, the move, and your relationship issues. I'm just thankful you were able to call me. Otherwise you could have died."

Though her reasonable side knew Christmas was right, her stricter side told her otherwise. That self-critic always told her she needed to lose a few pounds, or should use wrinkle cream, or needed to get a better shooting score even though she couldn't get much better.

_Really! Taking a pain med so close to a sleep aid. First, you give up on living, possibly dying when Roy was still alive, and now you almost kill yourself. Stupid woman. With the way you're acting lately, you should hang up your guns and just leave him in better hands. _

"Shut up," Riza muttered as she sat down on the soft chair they led her to.

"You say something?" Christmas asked.

"No."

"Hey, you okay?" Riri asked as she rushed into the room. She knelt beside Riza. "I have the bedroom ready. Let's get you upstairs."

"You girls go back out front and help Scarlet and Jami. I'll get help Riza."

"Yes Ma'am," Vanessa and Riri said without argument. When Christmas spoke in her authoritative—though congenial— tone, there was no room for discussion.

Christmas helped her to her feet. Though she could walk without problems, she didn't know how far she'd make it before her nausea kicked in and her head started spinning. She wouldn't have insisted on her release after only a day if she knew Christmas had stayed overnight in the hospital. She didn't want to be a burden on the woman.

"Did you check on Ro—"

"They had him sedated pretty well. He was still out of it when I looked in on him and Havoc. Now worry about yourself."

They began ascending the stairs. Christmas had a firm hold on Riza and let her stop every few steps.

When she finally made it to the room and over to the bed, Riza fell upon the soft mattress. "I never thought I would be glad that he was unconscious. He'd kill me if he found out what I did."

"So you aren't going to tell him?"

"I don't know," Riza said. She sat up, her posture slouched, and she kept her mouth open for each breath. "If I don't, are you going to?"

"It's not my place to get involved in your affairs unless you ask."

"How about an opinion. Should I?"

Christmas studied her with her stern regard and then nodded. "I think you should, but not yet. Wait until you two get better."

"Yes. And there's something else. Something more important that I need to tell him."

"Oh?"

She nodded. "That I'm sorry for the way I acted when Maes died. I was wrong."

Christmas shook her head and placed a hand on Riza's shoulder. "Maes had nothing to do with these incidents."

"Yes, he did. More than you would think. Sort of… kind of. Indirectly."

"Get some sleep Riza. You'll feel better in the morning."

Riza gave a small smile and relented as the kind woman's eyes gazed down on her. Since they'd first met she'd always felt a motherly love coming from Christmas. The woman even offered to let her spend the winter holiday with them. She was about to decline when her father, surprisingly, accepted for her. One of the few kind things he'd ever done.

"Yes, you're right." She hadn't meant to tell her that much. The woman was like a human vacuum that could suck information or feelings out of a person before they realized it.

Christmas motioned to a chair. "There is some night clothing for you. Do you need help changing?"

"No, I think I can manage."

"If you need anything, just yell alright? There's some water there on the table if you need it and an ice pack in that bucket. Remember doctor's orders to ice that rib.

"I will. Thank you so much."

When Christmas shut the door behind her, Riza stood and changed, the process taking twice as long as it should have. She grabbed the ice pack and laid it on her ribs, shivering as the cold touched her. She closed her eyes. Every exhale and inhale made her lungs cry out in protest and in turn sent her entire chest area into a sharp thump for a moment. It certainly wasn't going to be easy to sleep.

**-/-/-/-**

When she awoke the next morning after one of those deep sleeps one never remembers falling into, she immediately admitted she'd been wrong. She didn't have long to dwell on it because she heard one of the most lovely sounds. A bark. She looked to her right and saw Black Hayate resting his head on the corner of the bed. She reached over and petted him.

"Sorry for worrying you boy."

He whined and nuzzled her hand. "Good boy." She shifted and eased into an upright position. Her shirt stuck to her body. She reached under the fabric, slid out the ice pack, and returned it to the bucket on the bedside table.

She closed her eyes, relaxed her posture, and began the deep breathing exercises that her doctor suggested. Hayate sat quietly, watching his mistress, but as soon as a knock sounded, he barked. Riza opened her eyes. "Come in."

"I have foods!" Riri said as she entered the room carrying a tray.

"You're cheerful this morning," Riza said.

Riri paused in her walking. "Morning? It's noon."

Her eyes widened. "Noon?"

"Yep." She sat the tray on Riza's lap. When the food's smell hit her nose, she wrinkled it. "No no, you can't turn it down. You must eat to keep up your strength."

Riza nodded and picked up the spoon. Even though the meds were out of her system for the most part, food was still as unappealing as watching buzzards eat carrion in the desert. She forced herself to eat as much as possible after Riri left the room and then sat the tray down on the table beside her.

She looked around. Her eyes fell to one of her bags resting on a chair. Then it hit her that Hayate hadn't been there when she first arrived either. If he had then he would have followed her up to the room last night.

Well, trivial thoughts didn't matter. She needed to get well and get the information she'd thought about in the hospital. As a way for making up for her recent mistakes. She stood and was relieved to find the room was stationary. Her legs strained a bit under her weight, but it was no worse than what she experienced after an unfamiliar workout. She went over to the bag, opened it . . . and glowered.

Dresses. Everything dresses. And her fancier ones too. What did they think she was going to do? Go to a ball? Then again, what could she expect from women that worked in a club. She was thankful just to have something to wear. She dug into the bag, looking for an item that would be proper to wear out on the street. Relief washed over her when she saw a simple green sweater dress. She laughed. It still resided on the hanger with a brown belt wrapped around it as if saying, "Wear this with it". She knew she didn't do such an action, choosing to keep all her belts in a drawer.

Riza cringed at the thought of them going through her dresser, and her underwear drawer. She paled and hoped they didn't find the "items" Roy talked her into buying for the pages in the naughty sex book he'd been reading. If they mentioned anything about it, she'd never be able to look them in the eyes again.

She grabbed a bra and panties from the bag as well before making her way into the bathroom to shower and change.

**/-/-/-/**

It took a large amount of pleading, sneaking, downright stubbornness, and compromising before Christmas let her leave the bar. Riza would have to stay one more night at Christmas's before she could go home. She knew the woman remained so obstinate out of concern for her. Riza figured it would be better to be cautious and spend another night there, rather than having something else bad happen. That would only result in more guilt adhering itself in her mind like a sticky note.

She kept her eyes focused ahead, intending to do her work as quickly and efficiently as she could without notice. It didn't occur to her until she was within view of lab three that she'd have a problem. Two military policemen was standing at perfect attention in front of the gate, likely told that only research personnel could enter. She certainly couldn't pass as that.

If she were in her military uniform, it would still be too risky to try to enter. She could counter her paces from the building, but that wouldn't be accurate enough for her calculations. She needed the exact pacing from the lab to the large doors, and she didn't know where they were in relation to the surface.

She also wanted a closer look at those doors. Her back had continued to burn after Lust's death. Perhaps the solution to why was in the symbol etched into the stone upon them.

"Well shit. What now?" She absently scratched Hayate behind the ears and sighed. "How to get in." Her self-depreciating side stalked into her mind to scold her for not counting her paces when she entered the first time. She shut it up. Things were tense at that time. Counting paces would've been a distraction, and could've gotten her killed.

She started to walk around the building to see if there was a way to sneak in. She nodded at two men having their lunch on the tailgate of a truck. They were wearing yellow and black uniforms that said, Edcar Construction. She was well aware they stared at her, and she damned the above knee dress. Despite wearing a pair of black leggings, men still gawked.

She finished her rounds around the building and heaved. "No luck," she muttered and left the area. _Just when I think of__something that could help him, I screw up. I'll just have to estimate how much—_

"Hey Riza!" She stopped and turned in the direction of the voice. She trailed her perfect eyesight around the area in the same manner she'd use if she were looking through a scope. "Over here!"

Her eyes fell on Edmund Carnell who was across the street from her. He walked towards her with a long confident gait. He wore a pair of simple slacks and plain button up shirt. He had longer hair now and the beginnings of a beard, easily remedied by a quick shave.

It was good to see a friendly face that she didn't work with everyday. He hugged her before she could say a greeting. She hissed. He pulled away eyes wide, and stammered when she grabbed her side. Hayate growled. "Down Hayate," she gasped out.

"You're hurt?"

"Um…bruis… bruised ribs in an accident."

"That's serious! Did you get checked by a—"

"Just got out of the hospital yesterday evening. I stayed about 12 hours."

He took her arm and led her to a small cafe. After they sat down, a waitress approached them. "A cup of coffee, and green tea with lemon."

She shook her head as she removed her hand from its place on her ribs as the pain ebbed. "Just water. I'm afraid tea would be the worst thing for me right now."

"Water then," he said. The waitress glanced at Riza with a concerned look before scurrying off to get the order. She returned quickly, sat the things down on the table, and left.

"That was quick," she said, then looked at him. "Is there something you wanted?"

"To talk to you. I wasn't sure if I should interrupt your walk or not though. You looked deep in thought," he said.

"I was. I need . . . you have delivery trucks right?" she said, her brain twisting and twirling with a plan.

"Yes."

"Wouldn't happen to be making any deliveries to the lab on 6th street would you?"

"The military lab? No. They don't have any use for firearms.

"Damn."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "Never mind forget I said anything."

Edmund leaned forward and placed a sly smile on his lips. "Top secret military stuff?"

"Sort of. Sort of not."

He wrinkled his nose and jutted out his slim lips just a hair. "You can't leave me hanging Riza. Come on."

She couldn't keep a smirk off her lips when she saw the look on his face. He reminded her of Roy.

"You shouldn't have left the military if you wanted to know all the secrets," she whispered.

He took a drink of his coffee, giving a quick shudder at the taste of the black bitterness. "Well tell me the sort of not part."

She opened her mouth but then shut it. She knew he wouldn't tell but was there really a point to even mentioning it? "Humm…"

"Come on, you can trust me. You know that from Ishbal."

"In a battlefield yes, but this has more than that to do with."

"I'm hurt."

She bit the inside corner of her lips, not letting go until she decided to come out with it. "Let's walk." She didn't want sit still as they talked, especially not in a public cafe. He threw some money down on the table, enough to cover the bill and a tip, before they walked away from the cafe.

They began walking down the sidewalk. Suddenly he stopped and moved her to the inner side of the walkway. He took her arm and wrapped it through his.

"I don't know if you remember, but I'm marr—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know that. I'm walking with you, not sleeping with you. You are injured too so you might fall. And think about it, if you are walking with a friend like this, people will be thrown off track."

"That's the only reason you want to walk like this. To help the colonel and me with our ruse?"

He coughed. "So what is the sort of not part of your thoughts?"

"I need to get into lab 3."

"So just walk in. Last I remember it wasn't restricted to get inside the building itself."

"Is now. There are guards outside."

"You are military."

"It would be suspicious if I was to go in there without the Colonel, and it would be impossible to go in as I am now."

"So you need a way in, which is why you asked me about the delivery trucks."

"Exactly." He laughed and she pulled her arm away. Hayate growled at him.

"What is so funny?"

"You were going to pretend to be a delivery person and get access. Then do whatever it is you want to do? That's so…" He laughed again.

"What?"

"It's so bloody cliché it's funny."

"Yeah." She glowered. "Ha…ha…see me laughing?" Her temper was on a short leash and the last thing she wanted was to be made fun of.

"I'm sorry," he said, hiding another chuckle.

"May be cliché but it's exactly what they wouldn't expect."

He shrugged. "That's true. So what do you want in there for?"

"Survey. Retrace steps."

"Can you give me a day?"

"A day?"

"Lab 3 they are doing construction."

Her eyes widened. "Yes. I saw some uniform men."

"The company?"

"Edcar construction."

"Right."

She processed the name through her thumping head. The sun was giving her a headache. Edcar... Edcar...Ed... Edmund... Car... Carnell. She growled and he took a step away from him. She reached out and slapped him in the chest like a sister would slap her brother for doing something "gross". Her ribs protested the quick action.

"You bastard. You own a construction company too?"

"Nope."

"But..."

"Namesake. Edmund Philip Carnell. My uncle owns it but my cousin runs it now."

"And are you close with this cousin?"

"He's like a brother. If you want in then you only have a day. They've finished sealing up . . . um . . . the basement entrance I think. They just have to paint over the wall."

She slouched. "Ugh."

"You can survey the hospital with no problem. You can go in under a... what's the matter? You look like your cat just died."

Hayate growled at the mention of a cat but remained standing at Riza's side.

"Needed... basement . . . access." She felt like a dark cloud drenched her with a gully washer. "I need an alchemist. You wouldn't happen to have a relative who was an alchemist would you?"

"No. Why don't you ask lover boy?"

She nearly rolled her eyes at the nickname. "Lover boy, as you put it, is in the hospital with far worse injuries than mine. Besides, he wouldn't be happy that I'm doing this."

"Going against the husband's will. Not good."

"He never forbade me getting this information so I'm not necessarily going against his will."

"And if he asks?"

"I'm not worried about that. He won't bother asking where I got the info. He'll just be happy it's there."

"Must not have much concern about you," he said a bit lower than his normal speaking voice.

She fixed her dangerous stare onto him. "There's a line when it comes to him. Don't cross it."

"Okay okay, I'm sorry," he said. "It just came out before I thought better of it. Anyway, can't you survey the area from the surface?"

"No, it's not accurate enough and there's something else I need to have a look at."

"Is it really worth all the trouble?"

"Yes, it absolutely is. I have to get it."

"Well," he said and lifted his hand to his cheek, "they can't have blocked off the basement completely. They have to have access to the pump station for the labs."

"I smelled the sewage so. . . Can they access from the sewers?"

"I think they can. But the sewers are hard to navigate."

She shook her head. "I wouldn't have to go far."

"You'd have to enter from further away. The sewers on the lab's street have been blocked off due to filtering problems."

"How do you know that?"

"We were having trouble in the neighborhood with the system. I live a few streets down. Happened the night before last."

Riza nodded. That was when everything at the lab took place. Could someone have destroyed the sewer entrances nearby on purpose? Well, they couldn't have blocked out everything. "But that still won't be a problem if I have a sewer grid."

"True but how are you . . . ah, I see. My cousin."

"If you wouldn't mind asking him. He would obviously have access to the city sewer grid yes?"

"I'll have it for you by tomorrow, but you aren't going alone are you?"

"I was planning on it."

"Then I won't get them. Take someone with you. Actually, more than someone."

"No, you are civilian you aren't going."

"I'm former military and still as tough as nails."

She poked his stomach, feeling the flesh give way. "Not the abs I remember."

"Very fu . . . you remember my abs?"

"I may have been in love with Roy, but I wasn't blind."

He smiled haughtily for just a moment before his face formed back into seriousness. "Regardless, if you are going then I'm going to. And you need to find some more help. I know talking you out of this isn't an option because you're a stubborn bitch, so I'm asking you to use your head. You're injured, and obviously been through a lot if you're willing to go through this trouble. You need more than just one other person with you."

He was right and she hated it. Riza wracked her brain for someone she could get. She was only off work for one more day so they'd have to arrive by night. Fuery and Falman were watching the office. Poor Barry wasn't an option. After a moment, some people came to mind.

"Alright. Guess I'll call in a favor."

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**AN: Who's she gonna call... Ghost Busters! (Couldn't resist the bad joke. Sorry. XD) Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please leave a comment if you have the time. If not then I hope you look forward to the next chapter.**


	90. Slinking in the Sewers

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 90: Slinking in the Sewers**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. **

**AN: I've researched some strange things but I never thought my fanfiction of all things would have me researching sewers, Latin, and Kabbalah for the same story. Oh well, hope you enjoy the chapter. There's a reason our lovely Riza is traipsing around in the sludge. Always a method to my madness. **

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Why was it that nurses and doctors never interrupted when one needed them to? If he and Riza had been talking, they would've shown up. Instead, Raven and Vanessa sat beside his bed nagging him. They both wore wigs and dressed in clothing they'd never wear normally. It wouldn't do for them to ruin the cover he had when he took them out. Why were they even there in the first place? He couldn't think of a reason why they'd come for a visit. He pursed his lips and scolded himself. As if his sisters ever needed a reason for anything.

He was glad Havoc was out of the room now, otherwise he'd be embarrassed at the attempts his sisters made to get him to eat the leftover . . . item . . . on his food tray. Havoc would never let him live it down.

"Roy, you have to eat your protein. You can't be full on the vegetables and the little bit of pudding they give you," Raven said and pushed the tray in his direction.

He pushed it back. "That is not protein. It's merely disguising itself as such so it can give me the runs for the next few days."

"You are overreacting," Vanessa said. "That meat is not going to heal you so you can run. It's just food silly."

Raven and Roy stared at her, unable to think of a word to use as a response. Raven coughed and brought back the subject at hand. "If you don't eat it, we'll tell Riza on you."

Roy smirked and folded his arms. "That's not going to work on me. Besides, when's the last time you even saw her? Huh?"

"You are so stubborn. When Riza was in the hospital, and when she stayed with us, she didn't complain about the food!"

Roy's eyes widened. "What in the hell do you mean in the hospital?"

Raven jerked her head towards Vanessa and growled. "You weren't supposed to tell!"

She pressed her teeth together in a nervous smile. "Oops."

"What is this about her being in the hospital? She wasn't admitted that night. Alphonse told me that when he came for a visit."

"Calm down Roy, it's not our place to tell you. She'll tell you when she comes here."

But when would that be? He hadn't seen her in two days. Fuery, Falman, and Breda were doing guard duty rotations. Her being in the hospital would make sense.

Roy nodded and sat back. Riza didn't look hurt the last time he saw her. She showed no signs of damage past the small markings on her neck. She had a nervous and concerned countenance as well but that was understandable and no requirement to be hospitalized. Still the chances were that she wouldn't tell him. She didn't want to cause him more worry, but the fact was that he couldn't worry about her any more than he already did.

"No," Roy said.

"Huh? No what?" Vanessa asked.

Roy glared at his sisters, making them stiffen. His voice lowered in a manner that indicated he wanted no argument and would make no compromises. "You are going to tell me why she was in the hospital. Now."

**-/-/-/-/**

She made sure to warn Ramsey and Jason in advance about her injury just in case they decided to hug her. When she called to see if they would help her, a yes came from their mouths before she even finished her sentence. Christmas was wonderfully accommodating in allowing them to meet at the bar without knowing why they needed to do so.

"So basically, we are going to shlep through the sewers to get to a lab basement so you can retrace your steps for accurate measurements," Ramsey said. He didn't sound as if he had a problem with doing such, but she noted the confusion in his voice.

"Lieutenant Havoc and Colonel Mustang were injured in the mission there. I know this sounds like a lot of trouble, but I need this accuracy and I won't be satisfied if I half-ass it. There's no room for any mistakes now."

"Okay, so say the building does have this pumping station. You don't know for sure you can get from the station into the basement," Ramsey said.

"Why not just sneak into the lab at night and go into the basement?" Jason asked.

"Because access to the basement has been sealed off. This leads me to believe there has to be a way to get into the basement via sewers. Well that and the sewer grid. "

"Isn't there another basement entrance in Lab 3? Most places have two."

She shook her head. "No, the Lab is an old building, another reason why I think the lab would be accessible via sewer. Before I called you two, I thought of the possibility of a second entrance so I got a favor from a friend in records." She laid the blueprints on the table and pointed at a section. "This is Lab 3 and here is the basement entry marking. The only one." She covered the blueprint with one of the sewer grid. "Right here is where the sewer leads up to the pump station and—" Riza moved the sewer grid to show the blueprint once again, "—this is access from the pump station leading to the basement."

"It's on the print sure, but what if its not there?"

"You've become very negative," Jason said. "Don't send those vibes our way."

"I'm not negative. We need to cover our bases. What do we do if the entrance isn't there? It's not a stupid question."

Ramsey was right. They needed to make sure they covered every eventuality. Usually Roy thought of all that. She wasn't cut out to lead a mission and especially not one out of her realm of expertise. "If its not there, or inaccessible, then I have no idea. Or I may have to hunt down an alchemist or give up. Either way, I have to do something. I can't just sit on my ass." _I can't let him down again. _

"Hey, no worries. We'll get there. Even if we have to blow shit up," Jason said.

She chuckled. "I'm hoping it doesn't come to that."

"If it does, I have enough explosives, and the expertise in setting them off with limited damage. I'm sure they'd just think it's one of the microseisms we get here in Central."

"Micro—whatsit?" Ramsey asked.

"Tremor," Riza said.

"Ah," Ramsey looked at Edmund. "Never was good in English. Why do you think I became a sniper?"

"The women? They like men with big gun—"

Riza didn't like the conversation's direction. She spoke her first word louder than the others so the men would bring their focus back to the impending task. She ran her hand along a path on the grid. "Though they've fixed the blocked manholes, I already mapped out a way to the lab. We take a manhole here, on the east side because it's away from plain site, yet far enough not to have any damages. If we go any other way, we could be in deep shit."

"And I'm betting we can take that as both literally and figuratively," Edmund said.

Riza just smiled.

**-/-/-/-**

Thin clouds lazed in front of the moon in various sections. Thin streams of light filtered through, just enough for them to see the environment, yet cast perfect shadows needed for their mission. The group insinuated themselves between two narrow walls that hugged the alley, where the sewer access was located, and made their way towards the manhole.

"Glad I lost those twenty pounds. Wouldn't be able to squeeze through here if I hadn't," Ramsey said. He lit the small lantern he had in his grasp.

Jason smirked. "You were barely able to make it anyway. Need to lay off the sandwiches and hit the gym."

Edmund removed a crowbar from the bag he carried and focused on prying off the steel access cover. "Will you two lay off the talking? Don't you know the meaning of covert?"

"Yeah, like someone is going to try to squeeze through that alley way just to keep us from going in a sewer," Ramsey said.

Edmund looked at Riza. "Were they really the best you could do?"

She gave a small smile. "Believe it or not, these two are specially trained snipers with extra discipline in other fields. Don't let their idiotic actions fool you for a minute. They are much smarter than they look."

Edmund pried off the manhole and carefully lowered it to the ground before looking back up at her. "I hope you're right. They look like morons."

"Hey, I resemble that remark," Jason said. He spoke in a light tone, a clear indication that he took Edmund's statement as a joke, even if the older man wasn't joking at all.

"So, who is going in fir…" Riza grabbed the lantern beside her and entered the sewers without a word to the three men. "Okay, dumb question."

"What a woman," Edmund said, his admiration's clear.

Ramsey's hearing peaked and his voice took on a possessive and defensive lilt. "What? You like her that way too?"

"Yeah," Edmund admitted.

"You know what's funny?" Jason asked as he stepped down into the darkness. "Neither one of you stand a change in hell with her."

"That's the truth," Edmund muttered. Riza "belonged" to Roy Mustang in more ways than these two men knew.

"Go choke on a shit," Ramsey said before his friend disappeared underground. He looked at Edmund. "If I drown him in sewer sludge, will you rat me out?"

"Drown who?"

Ramsey threw his bag down into the hole and then moved to the ladder. A loud yell erupted from the depths. "Hey boofhead! You could have killed me! What if that'd been Riza here?"

"Riza has enough sense not to stand under a hole when people are coming down." Ramsey smirked and descended into the sewer. Edmund followed soon after.

**-/-/-/-**

After Edmund lit another lantern, and the group donned facemasks, they headed north. Riza pushed back the memories of the incident in the basement as their resounding footsteps brought back stark reminders of her failure to count the paces. Since leaving, she'd already numerously scolded herself for that and numerously reminded herself to the dangers if she'd done so then.

But was it as risky as it was now?

The answer was yes. For the simple reason Roy was in the area at that time. His safety mattered above all else. If he died, then there was no hope for this country as far as she was concerned. She was expendable; every one of his subordinates was. No matter how much he tried to convince her otherwise, she wouldn't change her mind.

She wrinkled her nose and readjusted the mask as the odor got stronger. The last thing she wanted was to taste sewage with every meal for the next few weeks.

Jason moved to walk on her right. He removed a small notebook with a pencil sketch of the grid from the bag he carried. Beside it, in messy cursive writing, were instructions. "We should turn left next and take the third tunnel on the right."

None of them spoke a word until they got to the tunnel. They stepped up and into the rounded, narrow passage. Riza pushed back a small string of nausea that came to her thanks to the squish and squelching sounds of the inch thick goop they treaded upon. She blamed the medicine she had to take for the sickness and tried to focus on getting this task done. She jerked around when she heard a rough thump and nearly slid into a split. She grabbed Jason's shoulder and he helped her straighten. As for the thump, Ramsey had slid on the gunk and hit on his kneed against the side of the passage. Edmund helped him up.

"You okay?" Riza asked.

"Yeah." His nose wrinkled. "This stuff is disgusting."

"You're a soldier. You should be used to filth."

"I am, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I can say that my job has never involved me wading through sewage."

"You can always go back at the entrance and wait. You didn't have to come." Her voice sounded harsh but she didn't intend for it to be.

"Well, now you know I would wade through shit for you." He fixed his mask. "You're the only one though."

The group laughed and continued further into the tunnel. The mud got thinner and deeper the further they ventured. When they got to the end, they were up to their knees in brown liquid.

Riza growled. "Shit."

"Yeah, lots of it." Jason said.

She glared at him. "The puns are getting old." She motioned to the environment in front of them with a palm, similar to the way one of those models presented the prizes during contests. The bridge that crossed a several meter wide gap was mangled into twists of metal and rotted boards.

"Crap." Jason said.

"Where?" Edmund asked, humor lacing through his tone.

"Enough jokes!" Were all men this immature when it came to humor? She remembered some of the jokes that she heard Roy and the others tell in the office. _That was a dumb question Riza._

"Aww poop, how are we going to get across that?" Ramsey asked.

Riza grumbled. _Poop? A soldier doesn't use a word like poop! _Clearly, Ramsey said that to get on her nerves. She bit the inside of her mouth so she wouldn't yell at him.

"The current is too strong to swim across and I don't treasure getting some kind of disease from that."

"We can walk across."

"Last time I checked I wasn't able to walk on water," Ramsey said.

Edmund pointed to a pipe that extended across the gap. "Surely we can cross that. They've had us walk narrower items in basic right?"

"That will be a piece of cake," Jason said as he walked over to the pipe. "I'll go first."

Ramsey's face took on a pained look. "Be sure not to crack your sack. If one foot goes one way and one foot slides the other, you'll have to scoot like a snail across."

Jason looked over his shoulder with his eyebrows furrowed. "Oh thank you for noting that. Like I needed that possibility in my head." He hurled his bag over to the other side, sighing in relief that it made it with a few inches to spare. He placed one of his feet upon the pipe then pushed himself up and placed his other foot in front of it. Holding out his arms for balance, he took a step, then another, and then another. Small, cautious, easy steps that would improve his chances of making it across. When he got to the other side, he jumped off the pipe and gave a thumb's up.

"That's sure as hell a lot longer than the beams in basic, but it's wider. Throw your bags over here."

Edmund threw the bag he carried across the gap and then proceeded to cross the pipe. Riza tensed when he got to the middle and faltered a bit. He easily caught his balance and made it across.

"Well is it ladies first?" Ramsey asked.

"No."

"Well that was blunt." He stood on the pipe, and then inched across it all the way to the end. His foot slipped marginally once, but caused him no trouble as he made the trek. He stepped off instead of jumping. "That's not so bad!" He yelled to Riza. "You shoul…"

His eyes widened when Riza stepped upon the pipe and strode briskly across it as easily as walking on flat land. She stepped down and smiled at the three bemused men.

"I was a tomboy growing up in the country. I crossed a lot of narrow tree limbs, so a pipe like that is nothing." She eyed the three tunnels in the wall next to them. Each carried their own unique blanket of sludge that hung down from their tops and dripped their liquid onto whoever would walk beneath them. "So where to next. Which tunnel?"

"The one in the middle."

**-/-/-/-**

It was fortunate they had no more wide gaps to cross and no more knee-deep ooze to pace through on their way. The worst danger was a filmy slime coating the cement floor. They entered the room and after looking around, seeing no doors, Jason spoke, "There should be a ladder that leads up."

They looked around the room, seeing no signs of a ladder. Riza took a few steps, holding her lantern high above her so she could see the ceiling, and moved it around until she spotted a hole in the roof. A metal screen was secured over the hole by hinges on one side and a padlock on the other.

"There's a way in." They walked over to the corner of the room. She removed her gun, and shot off the padlock holding the screen in place. It swung down, but no ladder came with it.

"Give me a boost," Riza said. Edmund cupped his hands. She placed her foot in them and he lifted her into the hole. She climbed in. The three men tensed when they heard three shots then silence.

* * *

**AN: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I was conflicted about ending it here, but ultimately after my friends' advice (OTP and RiRI) decided to do so. New chapter will come soon. Please drop a review my way if you have the time.**


	91. To Be of Use Pt 2

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 91: To Be of Use Pt 2**

**Disclaimer: I down own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction.**

* * *

"Riza! Are you okay?" Jason yelled.

When she didn't answer, Ramsey cupped his hands. "Quick!" He boosted Edmund up into the hole and reached up a lantern.

"Riza are you…" Edmund trailed off when he saw her standing at a door with her gun drawn and the door's lock shattered.

"Why the panic?" she asked after Ramsey sailed through the hole as though his ass was on fire.

"We heard the shots and you never answered us."

Riza nodded. "That's just because I didn't hear you, and if I was in danger don't you think I would have fired more than three shots?"

Ramsey reached his hand down the hole and took the other lantern before helping Jason up. "Like you'd need anymore?" Edmund said.

She pushed the door and it opened, breathing an eerie squeak as it moved. Another ladder greeted them and they climbed into another room.

"Here's the pump room so that means… entrance right there." Jason lifted the light to the right, and sure enough, there was a door. A bar door, similar to ones in prison, blocked the front of it. Three locks secured it shut.

"Allow me," Ramsey said as he walked over to it. He shot the first lock and the door swung open, the entire locksets of the other two going with the door itself. Ramsey rested his hand on the wooden door but backed away when he saw Carnell whip out a large shotgun.

"Now allow me." He blasted two holes in the door. "That should be big enough to get through."

"I gotta get one of those," Jason whispered to Riza. She didn't say anything even though she wanted one too.

The corner of Ramsey's mouth twitched and a vein popped on his forehead. "Carnell . . ." He pushed the door, and it moved inward a few feet before falling off its hinges. "You could have at least let me _push_ the door first to see if it would open."

Riza rolled her eyes and walked past the men. "This is getting ridiculous."

They ascended a set of stone steps. She smiled in triumph when they entered the hall that led to her destination. Jason knelt beside her, sat the lantern on the floor, and took out the blueprint. She knelt as well, ignoring the pains as she did. "At least someone isn't out of practice."

"I'm the only one still in the military other than you," Jason said.

Riza narrowed her eyes. "What in the do you mean by that?" She shot her glare towards Ramsey.

"He retired shortly after he was assigned to the Northern outpost. I always say Olivier Armstrong scared him out of the military."

"And you came anyway?"

Ramsey shifted nervously for a moment then straightened. He pointed his thumb over his shoulder in Edmund's direction. "He's not military either so don't start."

Riza clinched her teeth and refrained from yelling at him. It wouldn't do any good to be loud anyway. Besides, she had to focus and make sure her tattoo wasn't burning. Then there was the fact she had to try to ignore her thumping head, burning lungs, and aching ribs. "We need to make our way here." She touched the diagram of stairs. Then go east counting paces to the destina…" She trailed off and grinned.

"Riza?" Edmund leaned over her shoulder. "Something wrong?"

"The room that I want to go to isn't on the blueprint."

"And that makes you smile?"

"It's another confirmation that. . ." She couldn't say anything else. Since Jason was still in the military, it was in his best interests to know what was going on, but the less Edmund and Ramsey knew, the better. They were already too deep in this.

"Okay," she said and stood. "Jason and I are going on ahead. You two wait here."

"What! No way," Ramsey said. "You might need more than two people with you."

Riza shook her head. "It's not likely. Besides, we need to know if anyone comes through this way."

Ramsey narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, like someone is stalking us."

Riza wanted to say that it wouldn't be out of the question, but she didn't. It would only lead to more questions and her answers to those would lead to even more questions. "What we are doing isn't a big deal. It's just surveying. I could have done it on my own."

"Don't bullshit. It's because we aren't military isn't it?"

Riza refused to answer that question as well. Instead, she said, "If something, by a very slim chance, does happen, you two have to go back and let Mustang know everything. There are many reasons why—"

"Go get what you need done," Edmund said. Ramsey looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "We understand."

She knew Edmund would empathize even though he was the one that insisted she take a team in the first place. She looked to Jason. "Let's go."

**-/-/-**

Riza and Jason walked out of sight and Ramsey whirled toward Edmund as if about to start a fight. "Why in the hell did you give up so easily?"

"Why are you acting like a child?"

"I'm not."

"You know Riza wouldn't ask us to stay here if she didn't have a reason. It's not that she doesn't trust our abilities or us. There's something dangerous here, and it deals with a world that neither of us is a part of anymore. We came here because we were concerned about her safety, but we should be concerned about her mindset. If we get hurt she'd never forgive herself."

"We are former military. Just as capable as—"

"Grow up! I'm older than you by quite a few years so it's safe to assume I have a better understanding of reasons. Especially reasons that woman has. She's in deep and we just have to know when, and where to make things easy on her. I couldn't let her go down here alone, but I can respect her wishes at the right time."

Ramsey growled. "She's going to end up killing herself for that Mustang bastard. The damn womanizer will never appreciate her."

A chuckle left Edmund. If Ramsey every found out Mustang was neither of those things, he'd have a heart attack. He figured Riza wouldn't allow him going on dates unless it was some sort of cover so Mustang definitely wasn't a womanizer. The woman would also never stay with a man that didn't appreciate her. His stomach sank as he wished for a moment he were Mustang. "You're in love with her even though you don't see her very often. It's written all over you."

"And you aren't?" Ramsey snapped.

"Give up. There's no possible way she'll ever return the feelings for either of us."

Ramsey slouched, and then moved to lean against the wall. "Even so, I still don't like standing here doing nothing."

"We aren't doing nothing. We're doing what she said."

**-/-/-**

"So, what am I getting myself involved in," Jason said as they walked up the steps where the basement entrance once was. "And why didn't you let Edmund and Ramsey come with us?"

"This thing has military conspiracy written all over it. You're still part of this debacle. They aren't."

"What happened here?"

"You familiar with homunculi?"

"A bit," he said. "They don't actually exist . . . do they?"

They began walking down the stairs. Riza counted her paces as they stepped and then turned the corner and headed in the direction where she fail—where Roy killed Lust. She pulled down the side of her collar, revealing bruises decorating around her neck like a choker. "One did that and is responsible for my bruised ribs."

"Crap. And you think the government had something to do with them?"

"Yes."

"As much as I hate to admit it, it makes sense considering what we've done here so far and the pains it took to just get in here."

"I have to ask you to keep this a secret from—"

"Think you can get me as a part of Mustang's team?" She stopped walking and turned to him. "What? You want transferred under Mustang?"

"After finding out everything here, I think I can be of use to you guys."

She smiled. "I'll bring it up with him." It would be great to have someone she knew from academy on the team. "But I'm not going to tell him about this . . . mission. Not unless he asks."

"Secret's safe with me." She continued to count her paces as they made their way to their destination. They stopped at the door to the room. Jason laughed. "You know, I was kind of hoping it wasn't here."

She nodded. "Believe it or not, a part of me was hoping the same thing. There are bad memories here."

"Well, we've counted the distance. You don't have to go inside."

"Yes I do, there's something I have to get a closer look at." They crept into the room. A familiar stench came to her nose despite the mask over her mouth and nostrils.

Jason gagged. "What is that smell?"

"Rotting flesh. I wish I could say that I forgot this scent."

She lifted the lantern higher and spotted the door. She took a step and felt a pulse in her back. Then another step and it got stronger. She recognized a few words sketched in the door as things she'd seen in her father's notebooks, but didn't understand enough to get an overall feel for what the small statements meant. It didn't help that some of the words were covered and worn with age.

"Do you think you can draw the symbol on this?"

He walked up to stand beside her and looked up at the door. "Yeah, no problem." He sat the lantern down at his feet and removed the small notepad and pencil he carried. He flipped to a page and began sketching out the markings. "You need the words too?"

"I need anything you can get. If you can't get the entire word, just leave the letter blank. "I'm sure the Colonel can decode it."

"Hold the light higher?" Riza held the lantern over her head. Jason sketched out the upper parts of the sketch. "Okay, you can—"

Riza's stomach jerked, feeling like someone was trying to yank it out of her via her throat. "We have to go! We'll use what you have!" She grabbed his arm, and he seized the lantern, before they dashed for the door. She pushed him out of the way when Barry's human corpse, ragged and rotting, but moving, sprang at them. Jason dropped the lantern and drew his gun.

"No! Run for it," she yelled. Her tattoo stung as severely as when Roy cauterized a portion of it. She leaped out of the way, as the "corpse" struck out at her. She stumbled as she dodged another strike, but made it through the door.

She heard footsteps thumping behind them and struggled to keep her legs moving as her tattoo heated even more. An indication that something like Gluttony or Lust was after them.

"Good goody! Food!"

Shit! She knew that voice.

"What the hell was that?"

She didn't answer him. She didn't want to waste her breath talking when that thing was after them. They turned the corner and saw Ramsey and Edmund in the distance.

"Run!" Jason yelled. Edmund and Ramsey rushed down the stairs. Soon, Riza and Jason did the same.

She took the steps two by two until she reached the bottom. A single stab sailed through her back and then there was no more pain. Her stomach still felt heavy. She could still hear her heartbeat thumping in her ears. She felt the sweat drenching her shirt, and coating her palms. They jumped down the hole, and ran until they got to the room with the wide gap they had to swing across.

Using the end of his gun, and braced securely by Edmund and Ramsey, Jason leaned to the edge and brought the rope over to them. He handed it to Riza. "You first, you're injured."

Edmund looked at her, concern cloaking his face. "You got injured again?"

"Not again, her injuries are acting up." Jason smiled at her. "I've become good at reading people."

She took the rope without protest and swung over to the other side, barely able to make her footing. She pushed the rope over to the men, and they crossed. Her back now kept a steady, pain-free throb, so she wouldn't feel better until they all got out of there.

A chain of dulled explosions irrupted in the distance as they raced across the slime-slicked surface, then through the thick gunk, until they finally made it to the ladder and above ground. Edmund kicked the manhole cover over the hole and then sat on it. A brief, breathless, "Damn" was all he managed to say.

"We need to get out of here. Let's get back to Christmas's place," Riza said.

"Did you get what you needed? Everything?" Ramsey asked.

"Yes." She mustered the best smile she could. "Thank you all for the help. I appreciate it."

* * *

**AN: I don't have a lot of time now (new job and many worries) to write longer chapters. That means shorter chapters with more frequent updates. I have a lot on my plate (see profile for details) and I do have a life outside of fanfiction so much easier for me to update frequently than write long chapters.  
**

**Thank you all for reading and giving me support. I need all I can get right now. Please drop a review my way if you have the time. They make my day a little bit better.**


	92. Berating

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 92: Berating  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. **

* * *

Roy tapped his fingers against the bed railing beside him as he waited for Riza to show up. She'd called ahead to see if he was awake and he was told she was on her way there.

Three days. In the three days he'd been in that hell of a hospital, she hadn't been to visit him. He would be lying if he said he wasn't angry about that. However, that wasn't the main issue making his temper fester just below boiling point. She'd given up when the homunculi called Lust said he was dead. Granted, he almost did, but that didn't mean she couldn't go on living. She wasn't so weak as to need him alive. She could continue where he left off somehow. To at least make sure a good and just person made it to power. Grumman perhaps.

Then there was the issue of her being in the hospital . . . and no one would tell him why! His sisters were sworn to secrecy and they were more afraid of Riza's temper than his. The doctor's and nurses used the excuse of confidentiality agreements.

"Chief, can you please stop tapping? I'm trying to take a nap."

"Deal with it!" Roy continued his tapping, not bothering to even soften the blow of his fingertips against the railing.

"You are a lousy roommate. Excuse me for not being Hawkeye."

Roy didn't move his head, but still glanced over at the blonde man. "If you were Hawkeye you wouldn't be sleeping over there."

Havoc chuckled. "Bet I would too. It would be too risky to just squeeze in bed with you, not to mention uncomfortable considering injuries and all. She wouldn't do that."

Roy slouched and brought his eyes back to focus on the doorway. "Yeah, you're right."

Roy's tapping began pecking in sync with the ticking clock.

"Chief."

"I told you I wasn't going to stop tapping."

Havoc sighed and lit a cigarette. "It's not that… it's just... you should go easy on her. This can't be an easy position. Actually, it's probably hardest on her. You know how much she worries about you, and how seriously she takes her job of protecting you."

"I'm not going to yell at her," Roy said. He truly intended to be as calm as possible when she entered the room. Yelling wouldn't do any good.

"Liar," Havoc said.

Roy's head turned to look at him, eyes wide and mouth agape. "What in the held did you call me?"

"I said you were a lia—"

Roy's head turned towards the door when it swung open and all his commons sense flew out of him. His fear propelled all the anger, like a slingshot, straight toward the person that entered.

"You idiot! What in the hell were you thinking?"

"Told ya," Havoc muttered.

Riza walked over to the side of his bed. She stiffened her body, lowered her head and closed her eyes, as if bracing herself, both mentally and physically, for Roy's berating. A part of him tried to stop yelling, but his anger repressed it so much it couldn't make a dent in the dominant emotion.

"I expected more of you! To believe the enemies taunts like that and let them get to you. There's no excuse in it! Even if they were lying, you are to never ever give up the will to live. I don't need a useless soldier on my team. I need someone I know can handle things if I'm not there! Not cry like a child!"

Havoc cringed and opened his mouth to say something but paused as Riza bowed her head lower. "I'm sorry. You're right. There's no excuse in my actions. I'll try not to . . . cry at all anymore."

Roy leaned back against the bed roughly. "I'll continue to trust my back to you. Be more resolute in your duties. Know your position and what much be done.

Havoc grit his teeth. "You're one to talk Colonel. You weren't even supposed to be on the battlefield in the first place. If anyone should be following that advice, it's you."

Roy looked over at him. Havoc's eyebrows furrowed; his blue gaze glared anger at him. The man didn't like what he'd said to Riza. Honestly, he hadn't even liked what he said, even if it were true. "Why don't you just shut up?"

Havoc shrugged his shoulders, lay back, and closed his eyes. "Remember, you said you weren't going to yell."

"I have a right to yell. Besides, have you forgotten that I'm the one that saved your life?"

Havoc opened his eyes and looked at Roy. "Yeah, about that . . . You could've been a bit more careful. I mean I'm pretty burned up after your, saving."

"You ungrateful ass. I'm the one that's burnt! You got off rare." Roy's voice got louder with every sentence he spoke. He grabbed his side when he felt his stitches stretch.

"I'm a person, stop talking about me like I'm a steak!"

Riza rolled her eyes as both men collapsed back onto their beds, their argument draining their energy. Roy looked at her. "I'm a colonel, why don't I have my own room anyway?"

"That would be nice. Anyone is more agreeable that pecker Mustang."

Roy growled.

Riza looked at the two men warily. "Pecker?"

Roy waved her off. "Forget it. It's one of his annoying pet-peeves."

"Oh, he's talking about your tapping habit."

Havoc laughed. "So it is a quirk!"

"It annoys me too Havoc."

"I don't have a tapping habit, and even if I did, it's better than your addiction to those shit sticks. They are disgusting." He folded his arms across his chest. Yes, I should definitely have my own room."

"Sir, you must have sense to realize that it's easier to protect you both if you are in the same room."

Roy glared at her. "Yes, speaking of that. Just why hasn't anyone tried to kill us? People die in hospitals all the time and our injuries were severe. It wouldn't be unusual for us to die here."

They turned to the doors when they opened. Fuery and Alphonse peered in. Fuery held a rolled up document of some kind and Alphonse was covered in white fabric at his neck and side to conceal the fact he was empty.

"I have the document you asked me to get Lieutenant Hawkeye," Fuery said and saluted.

"And I came for a visit," Alphonse said.

"Alphonse, is it safe for you to be walking around in broad daylight? You are one of their targets and aren't exactly at top form."

"It's okay. I have someone that can sense the homunculi's aura near me. They'll let me know if someone is around."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "Those things have auras. What does those feel like."

"Like someone made you eat lead drenched with lemon and acid," Riza said. Everyone in the room looked at her with wide eyes. Roy was bewildered that his wife got those feelings with them. He knew she'd gotten the creeps over Bradley, but the homunculi? "Your entire body aches and you get a . . . thickness . . . in your skull."

"You can sense them Lieutenant?" Alphonse's voice was full of amazement.

"That's just the feeling I got when Gluttony and Lust showed up." She reached for the paper Fuery had in his grasp. "Keep a close guard outside. Don't let anyone in."

"Right." Fuery left the room and stood directly in front of the door.

Riza unfolded the paper and laid it on the bed. "What's that?"

"It's a map. I thought it might be a good idea to know where exactly everything was from a citywide view. I got this city map grid from a friend." She pointed at the red circle on the map. "I counted the paces from where we entered the lab to the large doors and made calculations based on the length of my strides. From that, I can almost pinpoint where we could stand above ground and be atop the doors. Using those calculations as a radius and lab three as the center, I drew a circle encompassing the area. With it, we can see if there are any above ground oddities."

Roy smirked. "This is excellent Lieutenant." Then it hit him. She didn't have time to count her paces down in the basement. Riza could multi-task but not in a situation like that. He would leave his inquiries as to how she got the information for a later time. He stuck that right up there with inquiring about her short hospital stay.

"Colonel look, lab 2 is within the circumference."

Roy looked closer and something else caught his eye. "And this edge of central headquarters is within it. The fuehrer's offices are here… And his estate is within it too."

"That means—" Riza swallowed, "—the fuehrer could be involved with the homunculi."

"But the fuehrer came to Dublith. He led a team that destroyed a Homunculi named Greed. Not only him but his entire team. Major Armstrong was with him."

"They could've been judged as a threat from him," Riza said.

"You seem convinced there's a connection," Roy said. He conveyed to her that he knew she was holding back. He looked over at Havoc. "It was the fuehrer that called for an ambulance for us right?"

"That's what I heard, yeah," Havoc replied.

"So do we count him as an ally or enemy?" he asked.

"I don't trust him," Riza said.

"Hughes said the military was in danger. Could he mean the upper echelon? We don't know how far this could possibly extend up the ladder. We'll have to be careful."

"We need to figure out a way to draw out the ones responsible," Riza said.

Roy grinned at her. "This could be a first class ticket to the top of the government. When I let Barry go into the prison, I was fishing for someone responsible for the danger Hughes was talking about. Turned out I got a bigger fish than I ever thought possible."

"You got a whale," Riza said. "It's much too big to handle."

Roy nodded. "For now it is. Which means we have to work harder. I can count on you right?"

"Of course Sir, but it would help if you got a few more people on your side."

Roy recognized that she wanted to broach at topic with him in regards to that. "Oh? Any suggestions?"

Before she could reply, Havoc spoke. "You're down one I'm afraid."

"What do you mean?" Riza said. "You're quitting?"

"Yeah," Havoc grabbed the sheets beside his body and made fists, tangling his fingers in the fabric. He took a deep breath. "I can't feel my legs. I'm going to have to retire."

Fuery entered the room after three knocks in a coded pattern. "Sir's there are two nurses here for Lieutenant Havoc, he has an exam."

"A lot of good that will do," he mumbled as two nurses came in. They wheeled the bed out of the room. Alphonse moved toward the door.

"I'll be going now too. I want to be at the hotel when brother gets back. Get well soon Colonel."

He nodded and Al left. "Fuery, guard that door. I need to discuss something of importance with the Lieutenant."

As soon as the door shut behind Fuery, the glare he possessed the first time he lambasted her, returned. "Why in the hell were you in the hospital?"

"Who told you?" she asked. "No wait, stupid question. Your sisters."

"One of them let it slip out. Now why?"

"I did something stupid," she said.

A tetchy laugh left him. "You seem to be doing a lot of stupid things lately. What was it this time?"

She licked her top chapped lip with the very tip of her tongue. "You don't need to worry about that, Sir. It's a personal matter that had little relation to my duties."

"Oh don't give me bullshit like that Riza," Roy said. He made sure he kept his voice lower since he used her first name. "Did you get hurt during the fight?"

"Bruised ribs from gluttony."

"And that's why you were rushed to the hospital? Why you called my mother and stayed with her for a few days."

A thin line of anger formed between Riza's brows, her lips pressed together tightly, and her arms folded across her chest. "Just how much did they tell you?"

"Not as much as I should know," he grabbed her arm and pulled her to sit next to him on the bed. "Why?" This time he asked in a gentle voice. He pulled her arms apart and took her hand with his.

"It was a ridiculous mistake. I took my pain medicines too close to my sleeping medication."

"You what! You know how dangerous that is!"

She jerked her hand away. "Like I said, I did something stupid. It was a mistake. I make those too you know. I can't be perfect all the time. I'm human if you haven't noticed."

"You had your mind on other things? Like what happened with Lust?"

"Of course. Your scolding was easy when compared with my mental one."

Roy nodded. He should've known Riza would be harder on herself than anyone. What he said probably didn't make her feel any better. "Close that curtain," Roy said, motioning towards the fabric barrier. Riza moved it so they were surrounded. He pulled her back down to the bed and wrapped his arms around her body.

"Don't you ever ever give up like that again. If something happens to me I want you to live on." One hand moved up to stroke her hair. "You can still make a difference in the world."

She moved away from him, her face angry. "Would you do the same? You were a bundle of nerves when Maes died. What if I died?"

Roy stared into her eyes. Would he continue to live if she died? He honestly didn't know. Maybe until he changed things, he'd do that in memory of her . . . if he could function that is. He could imagine the pain he felt after Maes death would be magnified by millions. That he wouldn't be able to eat, that he wouldn't have the strength to visit her grave. Hell, he couldn't bury her in the cold ground. Not when he knew she preferred the warmth of a soft fire.

"We don't have to think about that because you aren't going to die on me. I'm not going to die anytime soon either. We have to make sure of that for each other."

Even though she nodded, he knew she wasn't satisfied with his response. It would have to do until they could speak in-depth about her actions.

"I should take over guard duty from Fuery, he's been here a while and needs some rest."

Roy shook his head. "Let me hold you for a while," he said, opening his arms."

"That's highly improper, Sir." She stood.

"There's a curtain around us."

"Which makes this even more suspicious. They could think we were . . . doing other things."

He laughed when a blush spread across her cheek. "Sounds interesting. Why don't we give it a try?"

"You're injured."

"You could be on top and I could just relax."

She released a laughing sigh. "You know my answer to that." She went to the curtain and started to move it but stopped to protest when Roy swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He grabbed his side and leaned forward, a hiss leaving his lips. She rushed to him and grabbed his shoulder. "You idiot, your—"

He smirked, and fell backward, taking her with him. He felt his side stab but ignored it. Riza raised her head to look at him and growled.

"I just want a kiss, then I'll let you go for now."

She gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Happy?"

"Ecstatic. Now help me up. I want to get out of the room for a while."

"But you…"

"Just for a while. I want to go to the hospital library to get a book on anatomy to see if I can help Havoc."

She studied his eyes, seeing the guilt Roy felt for what happened to Havoc, and she couldn't deny his request.

* * *

**A question answered: **

** Lynn recently asked me, "wouldn't it actually take more work to update shorter chapters more often then longer ones less often due to the effort in uploading an posting as well as leaving comments ect" **

**Answer: No, because it takes very little time to actually update on site. I have the comments already pre-written with my chapters. I still I want to update consistently and often. I could update once a month with a long chapter but most of the time when I do that, it takes more time to actually write the stuff out. I don't know why. In addition, I ran a poll on my profile that stated that people would rather have shorter and more frequent. Not even my "shorter" chapters should be considered short. If you read any other fanfics on here, most of their chapters are no more than 1000-1500 words each (a friend of mine researched it). My shorter chapters are about 2500-3000 words. So I get a little annoyed when people say the chapters are too short.**

**Anyway, I wanted to answer that question. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please leave a review if you have the time.**


	93. Perusing for a Cure

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 93: Perusing for a Cure **

**Disclaimer: Don't own Fullmetal Alchemist **

* * *

From the moment he emerged from the hospital room, Riza's eyes never left his form. She'd kept hold of his arm after he refused a wheelchair, and he was thankful since it was hard to navigate through the crowded hospital hallway. It was a plus that he could have her close in public and not need an excuse for their contact. It made him calm and comfortable.

But now he wasn't so comfortable. It was one thing to watch him in a hallway around people and while walking, but now he was just standing still, perusing the various anatomy books stacked on the shelves, and doing nothing strenuous. There weren't any people in the small area either, which made such close guardianship unnecessary.

He found a book he wanted, removed it from the shelf, and opened it. "Are you trying to burn me with your stare?" He inched around to face her and looked up from the text. "You've been eyeing me this entire time. It's unnerving. If you have something you want to get off your chest, then say it."

"Okay."

"Okay. . ."

The only movement she made was to fold her arms over her chest. "Stop blaming yourself about what happened to Havoc."

Roy grabbed his IV stand to keep from toppling over. He felt silly for not expecting her blunt approach, and he should've known she'd recognized the way he felt. "You don't know what happened in there."

"I'm sure you didn't force him in there by your snapping fingers or pushed him in front of whatever it was that stabbed him. I'm guessing Lust's long nails."

Roy wanted to half chuckle and half yell at her for throwing a bit of her wit into the sentence. She made it hard to focus on the topic. "He was there because of me."

She exhaled, the air coming out in a shudder. Her arms uncrossed and she moved a hand so it rested against her right side. "What happened to Havoc was no more your fault than what happened to Hughes."

How could she have the nerve to tell him those things? Especially when she was as gifted with the skill of self-reproach. Roy slammed the book shut. "Are you finished being a hypocrite?"

"No, I'm not."

He watched as she walked over to a couch near the window. She grabbed the arm for a brace and lowered herself down onto the softness. If there'd been anyone else in the room, she would've sat down without caution and pushed back the grimace of pain on her face. "Oh? So you're admitting to being hypocritical."

"I'm not a hypocrite."

"Riza do you need me to give you a definition? Because you're fitting it to a T. If you aren't sure of that then I'm sure there's a dictionary in here. "

"I'm not a hypocrite because I don't blame myself for the uncontrollable. Not anymore." A small smile drifted to her face as she patted the seat next to her. Roy trudged over and sat beside her, careful not to tangle his IV lines as he did so. "I could control what I did in Ishbal, but I continued to murder. I still don't know why I didn't throw my gun down and risk execution for treason. I could've controlled my feelings in regards to Lust. I knew how you'd feel if I gave up, I could've fought on but I didn't."

"I'm dragging all of you with me into this. It was because of my goals Maes was killed, it was because of Havoc working under me, pushing me to the top, that he's—" Roy swallowed the saliva in his mouth, "—that he's paralyzed."

"It's his fault he's paralyzed," she said, "and its Maes fault he died."

Roy felt his stomach twist at hearing those words. "Riza, how could yo—"

"If Lust killed me, then it would've been my fault for faltering the way I did. I was lucky you came along in both situations."

"See, you're blaming yourself."

"Yes, for actions I could've controlled."

Roy's stubbornness didn't want to accept her words but the more she spoke, the more reasonable they sounded. Did they relieve his guilt? No. That would take more thinking than he was willing to do right now. But her words, they made sense. Even though his heart burned to even think Maes' death was his own fault, ultimately, she was right. He was distracted and he fell for it. Maes wouldn't freeze in throwing his knives the way the crime scene investigators hypothesized unless the murderers found his weakness. He trusted Lieutenant Grissom and his team even if he didn't trust the MPs and higher ups in that military section.

"Havoc didn't falter. She reached up and stabbed him through the ashes."

"Well that makes it even less your fault. He also made the decision to go in there with you. We all made the decision of our own free will to push you towards your goals. We all knew the risks and are still aware of them. They don't keep us from fighting with you because we believe your ultimate success is worth any sacrifice we make."

"That's stupid." If it were possible, he would've taken a large hammer to his head_. Smooth Roy. What an adult comeback there. _He was relieved when she directed her focus to her lap and didn't retort with a teasing, sarcastic remark. He opened his book and flipped to the index once again, the page of what he needed forgotten.

"It's my fault you're injured. You shouldn't have come to help me with Gluttony. If you hadn't come to save me with Lust you might not have used up so much energy that you needed."

He jerked his gaze away from the book and had to force his lower jaw to stay up. Didn't she just lecture him all about self-blame over things she couldn't control? "I saved you because I wanted to. I made the choice to stick my neck into things on the field. I can't have yo—" A look of realization crossed his face as her expression turned to a knowing one. "You jus—how—?"

"See? You don't want to recognize there are things you can't control."

Just when he thought she couldn't amaze him more, she ended up doing it. She was right again. He was so used to being the leader. The one responsible. It never occurred to him that just because he was the one in the highest position, didn't mean he had to take the blame for everything. Not unless he was using coercion.

"Try to consider another side before you start blaming yourself."

He put his arm around her shoulder, letting the book flip to a random page. "That's easier to say than do Riza."

"I know. But at least we're trying to right the wrongs. Whether it's our fault or not. I went into the — I got the map to help along in regards to my mistake. You're researching to help Havoc." She shifted in her seat and avoided eye contact with him. "And . . . Well . . . I know in regards to Maes, you want . . . to bring the person to justice."

Roy's hearing perked at the change in her tone_. Why'd she hesitate so much? _Maybe she was just feeling ill; an overdose and bruised ribs were no laughing matter. "Thank you. As always you know the right things to say."

Riza chuckled. "Not always." She looked down at the book and her brows furrowed. "Sir, I . . . need to tell you something."

Roy followed her gaze and grinned. Things were becoming much too tense. "You aren't pregnant are you?"

She looked up at his face, her own contorted with a raised eyebrow and flat lips opened in a thin oval. "What in the heck made you—?"

Roy tapped the page. Riza regarded the book for a moment before laughing. "I wasn't even reading the page . . . but I question why you are. I don't think Havoc getting pregnant is possible, much less useful for his condition."

While Roy did find her joke funny, the situation wasn't a laughing matter. Havoc was not only his second most useful aid in his fight to the top; he was a friend. One of a handful of people in the world he could trust. He'd do something to get him on his feet again . . . he had to.

He moved his arm from its place around her shoulders when the door opened. Two military personnel entered, one in a wheelchair, one in uniform pushing the chair.

"Let's go out into the lobby." He was sorry his time alone with Riza had to end when he hadn't seen her in a few days. "I got a call from Breda the morning. He should be here in a few hours."

**-/-/-/-**

Riza wasn't in the mood to sit down yet there she was in the lobby. Sitting. In pain. She looked over at Roy, who showed no signs of discomfort. It didn't surprise her considering some of the positions he fell asleep in, but he was injured, far worse than she, and these were less than optimal seats for an injured person. Maybe he was just so distracted with the events that his discomfort came secondary.

They'd talked to Breda, told him about Havoc, and were updated on the situation with Edward. Then Breda went to visit his friend. Giving such news about Havoc seemed so surreal. Like it was happening in a movie instead of in real life, and she was just watching.

After the conversation with Breda, Roy made the offhanded comment that he had so many worries he didn't know which to prioritize. She felt guilty. She wanted to tell Roy about her excursion in the sewers, and knew he'd be mad if he found out later, but no wasn't the right time. It would be best to wait since situations were stacking up to increasingly dangerous levels, and they'd lost another one on their team. She was realistic with his circumstance. Havoc had no use of his legs and would have to retire. There's no fixing a damaged spinal cord.

She sighed and put her mind back to guarding him from . . . this bunch of sick people. If the homunculi hadn't struck in the hospital room, they weren't going to strike here. She shifted to sit up straight only to put herself in more discomfort. If they did strike, she'd just force them to sit on these seats.

People came here sick and uneasy, the staff poked and prodded doing tests that had nothing to do with their condition, and then the hospitals gave medical bills the size of toilet paper rolls. The least they could do is make seating a bit more comfortable. A few cushions or padding would be better than what they had now.

Fed up with the occasional thump in her side, she stood.

Roy noticed her move. "Lieutenant?"

"I can guard you better on my feet."

He nodded and continued reading his book. She moved to stand on his right and took a deep breath, regretting it the moment she got a whiff of the disinfectant the hospital used to clean. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, Sir. I'm fine."

He muttered under his breath, thinking she couldn't make out the single word, "liar" that passed his lips. It wasn't worth the effort to respond, and she was lying after all, so she remained quiet. Quietness meant she had time to ponder what she'd said to him back in the library. She knew her words hadn't done any good to relieve his guilt, but she meant each one of them. If they continued to blame themselves for things they couldn't control in the past, then they wouldn't be able to move forward. It's like their deeds in Ishbal. They were responsible; no argument could make her think otherwise, but if they continued to writhe in their guilt, they couldn't do anything for the Ishbalians. They wouldn't be able to do anything to prevent such a massacre from happening again.

Riza felt a pat on her shoulder. "Good to see you again Hawkeye." She watched as an old "friend" walked past her and flopped down beside Roy. "Mustang."

The man rested a hand at the back of his neck and popped it before shifting in the seat. If he were trying to get relax, Riza would recommend he not sit there.

"Hello. Not feeling well?"

"I've been working 20 hours straight so far. Staying on my feet so much is hard on an old geezer like me."

"I see."

He moved the toothpick perched between his lips so it rested on the other side of his mouth. Riza knew the man would much rather have a pipe sitting there. "Next time do a better job. You're work on that thing was shoddy. With such a piss poor job, I'm surprised you got the teeth right. If anyone else had been working you would've been in deep shit."

"I'm lucky you're head coroner and can assign yourself to cases then, aren't I?"

Knox regarded Riza. "Have you been under his command since Ishbal?"

"Yes."

"I'm surprised you put up with him this long." He adjusted his glasses and grinned an almost undetectable smile at her.

"It's trying," she said, forcing a smile from appearing on her lips. Knox always was good at pushing Roy's buttons and he was trying to do it now.

"Give it a rest you two," Roy said.

Knox shrugged. "You always were too easy to pester." He narrowed his gaze, turned so he faced forward, and stared at Roy from the corner of his eye. "What made you think I would cover for you?"

"We are old comrades after all?"

"Oh, is that what you call it? I call it accomplices."

Roy nodded. "Yes, maybe that's a better word for us. What was it? I burned and you dissected."

"We used Ishbalians like students use frogs in a high school biology class."

Riza walked behind their chair and moved her back to them, making sure her body blocked anyone that might see them conversing from the doorway. She wished she had earplugs now though. She was still reeling from the full realization and impact of what she'd done in Ishbal. Still felt a sinking feeling from shooting the Ishbalian to save Bradley.

"True," Roy said.

"You're being too nonchalant about all of this. One of these days you're going to be in for a rude awakening."

"I already have been," Roy said and flipped a page in the book.

Knox stood and stretched. "Damn seats," he muttered before speaking louder, "Yes, I heard about Hughes."

"Not just him."

Knox glanced down at the book on Roy's lap. "Someone was injured?"

He nodded. "One of my subordinates suffered some spinal damage and lost use of his legs. Can anything be done?"

"It depends on the injury. Even if he did have a surgery that could return some feeling to him, it's not likely he'll recover enough to be able to remain in service."

"I see. Thanks Knox."

"Yeah."

When Knox was out of earshot, Roy cursed. "Damn him. I didn't want to hear that."

Riza knew she should remain silent, but chose not to. "You not hearing it wouldn't have made it less true."

Roy turned his head to the right and looked back at her. "You're being blunter than usual."

"No I'm not. We just haven't been around each other as much."

"Doesn't any of this bother you?"

Her chest tightened. How could he ask something like that? Of course it bothered her, but there was nothing she could do. She felt as helpless as a kitten in a room full of vicious dogs. "Do I need to dignify such a stupid question with an answer?"

She was growing tired of seeing him already, a rarity with her. All she wanted to do was be anywhere but near him. Every time a stressful situation came up, they became snarky with one another. She hated it, but it was instinctive that their actions took that course. Their words left them without any reasonable thoughts behind their vocalization. She saw his mouth open and was thankful when Breda interrupted.

"Sir, have you gotten around to reading my report?"

"No, not yet." Roy closed the book he was holding and took the small, ragged notebook sitting beside him into his grasp.

Breda leaned in. "About Havoc's legs. We can ask Dr. Marco for help."

Riza's hearing perked. She never had the chance to speak with Marco but she'd heard about him from Roy. She maintained her calm temperament among the exciting prospects of Havoc being healed. There was always a chance Marco didn't have the "ability" any longer.

"Will it be possible to extend my vacation?"

"Just do it. I'll handle it."

**-/-/-**

"Go home Lieutenant," Roy said as he moved the curtain to block the area between Havoc and his beds. Havoc was laying on his back, asleep, a light snore emitting from his body. "You've been here eight hours. I've called Falman to keep watch. He'll call you if anything happens."

"Sir, all do respect, Falman won't be able to guard you effectively."

"Save to say you wouldn't be able to on your own either." She winced. He was right; she'd be just as useless.

Roy must have noticed her action because he appeared regretful. "I'm sorry, I—"

"I'll be waiting outside for Falman. Sleep well Sir. Breda should be back by morning." Without so much as a smile, she left the room.

"Is it your goal to get her pissed at you, or to hurt her?" Havoc said from beyond the curtain. "Maybe both?"

"I thought you were asleep."

"I'm a hell of a good actor."

Roy growled. "Why is it always my fault?"

"I never said it was. I'm sure there's some blame with both of you, but right now you're acting like a . . ." Havoc hesitated.

His eyebrow twitched. "Oh no, don't hold back. Go ahead and say it. You have permission to speak freely."

"Fuckwit."

Roy yanked the covers up around him and grumbled sounds that were impossible to form into any kind of word. He was not acting like a . . . whatever the hell a fuckwit was. Havoc just didn't understand the way they communicated. It wasn't as if either of them would take the moody words seriously. Granted, they crossed the line sometimes, but it all smoothed out in the end.

"You don't understand our relationship Havoc. We're under a lot of stress and both of us know whatever we say in anger doesn't come out the way meant it to."

"But that doesn't mean the same meaning isn't there. You're pissed at her for giving up."

"You wouldn't be?"

"I'd be furious. But I wouldn't throw her mistake it in her face the way you did."

"I treated her the way I would any soldier. I can't show favoritism." Roy knew Havoc didn't buy it from the way the blond rolled his eyes. And who could blame him? It wasn't true. He was a thousand more times terrified that she'd given up so easy. It had nothing to do with losing her as a member of his team, and everything to do with losing his wife.

"Bullshit, there wasn't anyone in the room except me."

"Riza doesn't want babied. I know that much."

"I never said a damn thing about you babying her."

"Okay then, say I'd been gentle and took her into my arms. Say I spouted niceties about her being alive. And someone walked in. What then Havoc? We'd be caught in a compromising position and if it were a higher up, we'd be separated. She told you and Rebecca, and her display caused Alphonse to find out about our secret. Somehow the Homunculi know, so I'm not going to give anyone the chance to back up their claims."

"Your fault."

"Pardon?"

"You're the one that wrote your anniversary date on the calendar."

Roy furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms. Havoc was right, and if he remembered correctly, he was the one who called Riza his wife during the Lust incident. In both situations, he was the one responsible for people finding out. But the homunculi. How'd the bitch know? "Havoc, are you sure you didn't let our secret slip to Sola—Lust?"

"You two never came up." Havoc pulled the covers up over his shoulders. "You thinking about the fact she knew about you two?"

"Yeah."

He yawned. "I didn't tell a soul Chief."

Roy nodded and shifted so he lay flat on his back. "I'll just have to dig deep until I figure out how they found out. I just don't know for sure where to start digging."

When Havoc didn't respond, Roy turned his head to the right and saw he was asleep. Roy stared at his loyal subordinate and his face darkened. He got revenge on Lust for what she did to him, and he vowed to burn every surviving homunculus into ash. Especially the one that murdered Hughes.

* * *

**AN: Had a horrible case of writers block so I tinkered around on tumblr for a bit, talked out my plots with friends and now I'm getting back into the swing of writing with this chapter. I missed writing. XD . Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you have time please comment. **


	94. Cloak and Dagger

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 94: Cloak-and-Dagger **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

* * *

She slid the book upon the shelf before falling back onto the chair behind her. Looking through Roy's books for information was as effective as trying to shoot while wearing a blind fold in a sandstorm. If she ever wanted to feel stupid again, she'd just go there and open up one of the alchemy texts. She pushed herself to her feet and trudged over to his door.

At the hospital, Roy told her to go home. And she had. Sort of. She'd walked halfway up her street, realized she'd be too anxious sitting in her apartment doing nothing, and decided to attempt to find more information about the symbol on the door and her tattoo. She hadn't realized it would take forever to go through his books, and once she had found the right one, she wouldn't understand what she read.

She left his house, locked the door behind her, and started on her way home. She took a deep breath of the evening air, and enjoyed the way the coolness tickled across her skin. Her face felt cool, the way it did in winter when the snow patted and melted against it. The street with dim blue lights made the area appear plunged in winter rather than an early fall.

Looking far ahead, to a more business-centered area, she saw the winter world transverse into summer; bright orange lanterns cast such a strong light it drifted up and attached along the edges of the buildings. She felt warmer just looking at the area.

Then she felt it. The familiar tenseness in her back she experienced when pinned down under gunfire. The weight that pressed and bore down upon her when a gaze from the shadows was watching. Her throat protested every breath she took by sending a sharp tingle up its sides. Her tattoo. Burning. She focused her hearing on every small sound, even her own footsteps. Coerced her body into remaining in a normal position as she strived to make it to the brightness. Like a tortured soul striving for so-called salvation from hell.

She wouldn't turn around to look. She'd pretend she didn't sense the . . . homunculi . . . stalking her. Her lungs strained to inhale as she put all of her focus on appearing normal. She studied the sides of the buildings ahead and saw several alleys, and for a moment contemplated darting into one of them. But if a monster like Lust were following her, she wouldn't stand a chance if cornered. Her mind laughed at her. She wouldn't stand a chance even if she had plenty of room to fight. With each footstep, she feared she'd freeze to the sidewalk, despite her back feeling so aflame it could melt tungsten.

Twenty feet away. The sensations where still there, staying at the levels they were when they first appeared. Ten feet. Fading. A steady pulse of pain still traveled across the red ink in her back but the tension drenching her was gone. Five feet. A chill was all that remained. She made it into the brighter light, everything rushed away, and she felt normal. At least physically. The tense sensations her body experienced still haunted her mind. She walked a few more feet before jerking around to look back. She found nothing.

"Riza? You okay?"

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned. "Did you see anyone behind me at all?"

Edmund shook his head. "No. Why? You in trouble again?"

"Don't make it sound like I get in trouble on a regular basis." She realized how dumb she sounded. Considering her commanding officer and his goal, an intelligent person could deduce getting in trouble was her job description.

"You mean you don't?"

_And Edmund is smart enough to know it of course_. "Forget I said anything."

"Will do." He motioned in the direction behind her with a brief, small move of his head. His eyes never focused on the area. "Being followed?"

"Yes. At least I thought I was." She looked at him and narrowed her eyes. He took a step back.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Why do you keep showing up when I'm alone in the city?"

His lips twitched up but didn't form into a smile like she expected. "Because I'm stalking you."

Riza looked to the left; she resisted rolling her eyes but exhaled roughly. She would've believed that was the case if he hadn't stated that in his joking manner. She exhaled again. "I'm going home." She walked past him but he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry I frustrated you." He moved to her side and pointed at the building across the street. "One of my offices. You know the warehouses are located not far from here. I own a majority of them."

She grinned. "Are you bragging?"

"Don't you think I should?"

"No, because half those warehouses are empty. Business not been going well?"

She knew she hit a nerve when she saw his jaw tense and felt guilty. She was getting ready to ask but he interrupted.

"Business is going fine thank you. Better than usual." He reached into his pants pocket and held up a pair of keys. "Ride home? That is if Mustang won't get angry."

"You mean you care if he does?"

He shrugged. "No, not really."

"Well, he wouldn't. I'm tired so yes, I'd like a ride home." He placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her down the street toward his car. She pulled away when she felt a tinge of comfort with him, a comfort she wasn't used to feeling when around any man other than Roy.

He must have noticed it because he asked, "Something wrong?"

She opened her mouth to deny it but her stomach decided to make its hungry state known. During tests in academy; when waiting for a shot and silence was an utmost importance; when in a crowded room after everything went quiet, a stomach always found it suitable to gurgle louder than usual. And it always made her blush. Now was no exception.

Edmund chuckled. "How about letting me buy you dinner too?"

"I'll fix something when I get home."

"Oh, come on. I'm not asking you on a date Riza. Just a friend taking you to dinner. Besides, the place I know has the best chocolate desserts. If I remember right, you love chocolate."

She wanted to laugh at the innocent way he spoke and found herself nodding before she even thought to deny again. It was just dinner between friends after all. And there was no way she could turn down the potential for anything chocolate.

**-/-/-**

"You still don't drink?" he asked when she ordered water instead of the many wines on the menu that would accompany her food better. "Or is it some meds you're on?"

"I'm on medicines, but there's no point in me drinking."

"You don't like the taste?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Wine is disgusting." She took a sip of water and studied his face for a reaction. It remained interested in her and what she was about to say. He met her gaze without any hesitation and his posture was relaxed. "Are you trying to get me drunk or something?" She knew it was bullshit because he knew about her tolerance to alcohol.

Edmund didn't answer until the waiter served their food and left. "Would it improve my chances with you?"

Riza paused in her actions, her fork halfway to her mouth. Did he just say what she thought he said? Did he actually think…? The piece of chicken fell off her fork; she took it as a signal to speak. She wouldn't give him even more evidence that he stunned her. "You thought you had a chance?" She forced her voice to sound amused.

"Until you submit the license, I have a chance. And if I were the type to go after a legally married woman, I'd still have a chance."

She wanted to correct him. Legal or not she was still a very married woman. Marriage was more than just a slip of paper. Riza took a bite of the food on her plate but didn't bother paying attention to its taste, her mind too focused on denying what he said. "If you could see into my heart you wouldn't say that." It was a cheesy thing to say but it summed up what she felt. "Give up."

"No."

"I'll put an end to our friendship if you don't."

Edmund took the water glass off the table instead of the wine and took a large drink. A waiter appeared at his side, as if teleporting there, and filled it. "I'm not going to force anything on you."

"I know."

"Besides, you'd shoot my balls off."

Riza would have choked if she hadn't already swallowed the bite of food she'd taken. She laughed. "Just what kind of things do you have in mind towards me?"

"I'll keep that to myself until you decide I'm the perfect man and you'll quit the military and end up in a nice country house somewhere."

She looked down at her plate. "That sounds wonderful."

"Yes, but the pleasantries of that idea don't come with me do they?"

A waiter came up to the table. "Mister Carnell. You have a phone call, Sir."

"A call? You planned being here? Or do you own this restaurant?"

"Are you kidding? I'd go bankrupt if I tried to run restaurants. It's just I eat here often."

"Friends with the owner?"

He grinned. "You got it." He put his napkin on the table and stood. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

She allowed her body to slouch as much as decorum allowed and shuffled around the vegetables on her plate before choosing a spear of asparagus and taking a bite, despite not liking the green vegetable. She shuffled around more vegetables before deciding to eat a carrot this time. She liked carrots, she liked grow them when she was younger. Maybe she'd grown a garden someday if she ever had the space.

She let her fork drop out of her hand, its handle hit the vegetables in her plate, dulling the clang it would make if it'd hit the china itself. She'd never have the room or time to do anything so normal. It wasn't even that she thought she deserved something so calm and safe, but the mention of the one thing she wanted more than anything made her reflect on her desires.

She wanted to quit the military, as long as Roy did, and get a house somewhere away from danger. She wanted to marry Roy in a nice wedding, have a few kids, and grow a garden. Most people who knew her would see it as uncharacteristically domestic for her. Roy would find it amusing but not odd. He'd find it desirable as well. He'd ask her if he wanted to quit, even though he wouldn't want her to, and would already know her answer.

Her back jolted and she turned around. Her gaze raked over every person behind her and then moved to her side and in front of her. She couldn't identify which was a homunculus. They were good at blending in. Havoc was very perceptive and Lust fooled him. Though she didn't know which person was the homunculus, she knew there was one present in there. And she and . . . The pain in her back flared enough to make her jerk as Edmund moved to sit across from her. The smell of her food drifting to her nose made her appetite vanish. Her head felt like someone had shoved cloth into it.

"Something wrong?"

She smiled and shook her head. That wasn't Edmund across from her but if she wanted to live, she wouldn't let "it" know she knew. She picked up her fork and despite her stomach's state, took a bite of her food. She summoned everything she knew about acting undercover and spoke. "Important call?"

"Of course. I'm a very important person."

He'd never speak in such an arrogant way. While he was cocky, it wasn't as unappealing as this thing made it seem. This homunculus didn't have a clue about Edmund, which made her reason the transformation/charade was a spur of the moment decision. The most important issue was Edmund's location. Was he all right?

She had to remain calm. If he was hurt, there was nothing she could do about it right now. If this homunculus decided to kill her, then she'd obviously be even less capable to help him. If he was alive and she risked her life, Edmund would be furious enough to kill her.

She put down her fork and took a drink of water. "Cocky as always aren't you?"

"I remind you of your husband?"

So Lust wasn't the only one who knew about her marriage. And they obviously felt she was a threat if they were stalking her like this.

"You're the same old Edmund. Cocky, and extremely amusing." She pulled out her wallet and paid for her portion of dinner. "I'll be going now. I've got to get to work early tomorrow."

She saw "him" stand and he took her wrist, holding tight enough she could feel her pulse pressing and beating against his grasp. She heard her consistent, and thankfully calm, heartbeat in her ears and numbness and pain jounced through her fingers. "I'll walk you home."

"I'm not going to just let you shirk off your work," Riza said.

"Work?"

"Yes, you mentioned you had some overnight work. Remember?"

"But I can spare time to…" Her knees started shaking, making unsure if she could keep standing for much longer. She couldn't feel her feet in her shoes. The burning in her back increased and she had to bite back a hiss. She clinched her teeth so hard her gums hurt.

Then he let go of her. "Yes, you are right of course." All the pain except the first wave, ceased. "I'm extremely busy."

"Goodnight Edmund. I'll see you again soon."

"Yes."

Disgust diffused through her body at the fake smile on "its" face. She made her way out of the restaurant and down the block, paying special attention to the way her tattoo felt. When it didn't hurt, she curved around a building and made her way to the back area of the restaurant. She had to find the real Edmund.

Then, doubt jarred her and she paused in her steps. What if he had something to do with the homunculi?

No. That was ridiculous. He'd die before he'd betray her. She went through the back emergency exit and found herself in a dark hallway. She slinked into a shaded corner and concentrated. When satisfied there wasn't a homunculus in the vicinity, she slunk down the hallway. She moved toward the first door, adorned with a sign that read "storage". She turned the knob and looked inside. No one was there. She checked all of the rooms until she made it to the area accessible to the public. She made a mental note to tell Edmund his friend's security was horrible.

She checked the female bathroom then, hesitantly, entered the mens' room, checking first to see if there was anyone at the urinals there. When it was void, she entered further. She looked into each the stalls, first looking under them to see if they were occupied and knocking when she saw feet under one of the stalls. Someone answered. "Hey, dude, nice heels." His tone was one of a smartass. She muttered and withheld the urge to open the door and shoot off the guy's penis.

When satisfied Edmund wasn't in there, she left. She walked closer to the dining section of the restaurant, peeked into the area, and felt her tattoo tingle again. Edmund was at the table with . . . her.

"Fuck." She moved out of sight, spotted the payphone in between the bathroom doors, and walked over to it. After sifting through her purse for some loose change, she looked through the attached phonebook. She looked up the restaurants number and dialed it. If they were going to use a phone trick on her, she'd do the same trick on them.

When someone answered, she asked for Mister Carnell. "Just a moment please." She tapped her fingers on the phone until she heard his voice. "Edmund, I don't have time to explain. It's Riza, I'm on the phone near the bathrooms. Come to the men's room."

"I don't know what kind of trick you're trying to pull but—"

"Edmund that's not me. It's a homunculus with you. Meet me in the men's room, first stall and I'll explain it."

"How do I know you aren't the homunculus?"

"Your middle names are Gervis Heiner and you have a twin sister named Shanda Lear."

"I'll be there in a few minutes." She hung up the phone and entered the men's bathroom, first stall, and closed the door. She looked at her watch and waited. Her noise wrinkled when she heard a noise from the other stall and she nearly hurled into the toilet beside her as the stench permeated the air. Strong enough it made her wonder if it would linger on the skin for a while like a skunk's odor.

"Ah, that felt better," the same voice she'd heard earlier, said. She rolled her eyes and waved her hands in front of her nose as if it could make the scent travel away from her nostrils.

_He should check to make sure he didn't shit out his guts. _

A few moments later she heard the main door to the room open and Edmund's voice greet the mean. She inched open the door as Edmund walked toward the stall. He entered and shut the door. He winced but didn't mention the horrible smell. "A homunculus? They're real?" his voice faltered a bit.

"Yes. I believe the call was a trick by it. How long were you on the phone?"

"The caller hung up." His eyebrows furrowed. "The waiter said Phillip, the owner, wanted to see me so I went to the office upstairs for a few minutes."

Now things were coming together even more. Turns out the waiter might've been that homunculi. "But he didn't want to see you?"

"Yeah he did, but he didn't know I was eating here. Then I came back and saw you were sitting there. At least I thought it was you."

Riza nodded. "The homunculus is a shape shifter. We'll leave through the back. They probably don't know where you live. Come on."

The two darted out of the bathroom and hastened through the back door. They dashed into the back alley and down the street, keeping away from the windows where the homunculus might see them. Riza felt the increasing beat of her heart due to the constant pace of their runs, and stabs in her ribs each time her foot thumped against the ground.

"Come on, my house is this way," he said, taking her hand and leading her up another street. She slowed, causing him to do the same.

"It's okay. They aren't following." When she noticed the question on his face, she explained. "I can sense them."

They continued walking. Riza's body betrayed her as the adrenaline wore off and the pain in her side became more pronounced. She felt weak and dizzy, the small amount of food she had that day not enough to give her body strength. Before she knew what was happening, she was lead through a door and it clicked closed behind her.

She looked up when Edmund let go of her hand and clicked on a lamp beside the door, casting enough light around the room to make out the shape of the objects themselves but not the details.

"I'll get us something to drink. You—"

"I have to go." His outlined looked like an evil spirit drifting in slow motion as he turned to her.

"What did you just say?" His sentence increased in volume and anger as he spoke each word. She was thankful to the shadows for more than once in her life. Thankful she couldn't make out the furious look that probably dominated his face.

He stomped over to her and pinned her against the door. She knew he wouldn't hurt her so she didn't try to get away. Instead, she stared into his eyes, only able to see a slight reflection of light bouncing off his orbs. They made her wish she were with Roy right now. "I said I have to go."

His grip tightened. "Do you think I'm stupid enough to let you leave here right now? That homunculus is going to kill you."

Riza offered him a kind smile. "You don't need to be concerned about this."

He trailed the back of his hand down the right side of her cheek. "Yes I do." Then his lips pressed against hers.

* * *

**AN: As always, the characters decided they weren't going to listen to me (if you write a lot you'll understand this). As a result, it's very likely you'll get two chapters very close together. Hope you enjoyed this and please review if you have the time. **


	95. Loosened

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 95: Loosened  
**

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of FMA and gain no profit from this fiction. I do own my OC's. **

**AN: A long chapter this time. Hope you like it. XD  
**

* * *

It seemed as if he realized the full severity of his actions immediately after he took them because he pulled away just seconds after he kissed her, and she easily jerked her hands away from his grasp. He stumbled back.

He shouldn't have been the one stunned!

"Riza . . . I. . ." His voice shook like someone giving their last request before facing a firing squad. She saw what he did as treasonous. He was her friend and though she allowed a small amount of flirting, she trusted him enough that he wouldn't venture too far with her.

She shook her head and he didn't continue. They stood there in the company of a ticking clock and the occasional blare of a horn in the distance. For once, she didn't know what to say to him. The safe comfort she felt in his company disappeared, and she felt as if she cheated on Roy by just being in his presence.

"Don't come around me anymore." She hated speaking those words, hated phrasing it like a preschool kid telling another to keep away. She raised her head and met his eyes, their details still not distinguishable in the dim room.

"Just act like you don't know me. I don't…" This hurt. She loved Edmund, but not the way he wanted. "We never met." She opened the door but didn't move because he spoke.

"That's it? Because of a single kiss I lose you in every way?"

"Why shouldn't you. I can't trust you enough not to do it again.

"It was spur of the moment."

"It's not just about the kiss. You know that. I'm going."

She placed one foot over the threshold and froze again when he said, "Are you going to tell him?"

Riza turned to look at him. Everything? What did he mean by that? "The kiss? No."

"I don't give a shit if you tell him about the kiss or not. That's not what I mean. I meant about everything else."

She didn't want to talk to him anymore. She needed to think and she couldn't do that with his influence. "I'm leaving."

"You're relationship isn't solid is it Riza?"

She twisted around. She hadn't felt the urge to smack him when he kissed her but now he was really pushing her to pistol-whip him. Shooting would be a waste of bullets. "You know nothing about my relationship with him."

"You didn't tell him about the sewers did you?"

"That's not your bu—"

"And you won't tell him about tonight, about the homunculus or about what I did. You want to know why?"

She kicked his door closed with the back of her foot, the pictures on either side of the door rattled and one crashed to the floor. "Stop it."

"Because you're afraid of losing him and your marriage failing."

Her body went cold to the point that small tremors rushed through her, paying special attention at her knees as if trying to topple her resolve to leave. Her mind wanted to know more about his thoughts, what someone from the outside of their relationship, a neutral perspective so to speak, saw. "It scares me sometimes."

She forced herself to swallow the large amount of saliva that built up in her mouth when he leveled his eyes at her. They radiated a judgment onto her without him knowing the full details of the case itself.

"Start burdening him."

A shocked rictus took form on her face but she forced the rest of her body to remain neutral before it decided to betray her. Damn it she couldn't make herself move. He walked toward her. If he kissed her again, she'd knock him out.

He stopped a few inches away from her and looked down at her. The fact Edmund was a good two heads taller than she was never bothered her before. He always seemed like a big kitten. Now that he stared down at her, she realized that kitten was more akin to a full-grown tiger.

"What do you mean?"

"You're afraid to burden him."

Riza shook her head. "There are things that he doesn't have to know. There are things he needs to focus on."

"You."

"What?"

"He needs to focus on his career, yes. But you're a top priority whether you like it or not." She looked away from him. She didn't need to hear that.

Or maybe it was what she'd need to hear.

"I'm through with being so self centered," she said.

"Self-centered?" He laughed incredulously. "The entire issue is that you're not self-centered enough."

"I was a big baby during Hughes funeral. I wanted him to pay attention to me because I felt helpless when really I should have been supporting him." Goddamn it! She hadn't meant to say that.

Or maybe she had?

"I don't know what happened there, but as his wife, it's normal to feel that way."

"Are you a psychologist now or something? Stop analyzing me. Hell, I don't even know why I'm still here."

Or maybe she did. . .

"Because you know I'm right and you want to hear it."

_How did this ma… wha…how…_ She exhaled so hard that a small cough followed it.

"If you were my wife, you'd be my top priority. I know I've said some unflattering things about Mustang, but that was just to make you flustered. I still don't think he deserves you, but he does care."

"I know that it's just . . ."

"You have a hard time believing that someone could care for you."

She wouldn't admit his words were true but she didn't really need to anyway.

"I care about you. That's obvious. Ramsey's in love with you too. And do you think Mustang would risk his career all these years if he didn't."

She opened her mouth to say something but decided not to at the last minute. Edmund's eyebrows furrowed. "The question is, how much do you care for him?"

"I love him. There's nothing else to say about that."

"Then stop shutting off from him. If he's as brilliant as people say, he's noticed that you're withholding things, and that's probably putting more of a weight on his mind than anything you've already done."

She reached up and rubbed her eyes with both hands, trailed her right hand through her bangs, and then shook her head. "You don't know anything."

"Apparently I do from the way you're fidgeting. I'm hitting a nerve aren't I? If not, then I'm damn close to doing it."

She couldn't deny anything Edmund said. Though she was always direct with him, a large part of the directness was flowery bullshit that she didn't believe herself. She'd stuck herself under some kind of illusion that she made him believe it.

She clapped a hand over her eyes and squeezed them tight until she saw colors forming behind her eyelids. She was even fake in her directness. Everything she did went to easing Roy when in reality it probably wasn't easing him at all. This entire time he was probably just agreeing with her to making things easier. If she won the fights, if she made sense, then it would mean a bit of her own issues would calm. But they didn't.

She chuckled.

"What's wrong?" Edmund asked.

"Everything is trapped in an endless loop." She moved her hands from their place over her eyes and opened them. Her vision was blurry at first but it slowly cleared. "You're right. I don't share with him, and it's because I don't want to burden him. That problem hangs over us all the time. He gives into me too easy because he thinks it will ease me but it doesn't. The problem stays in constant limbo only popping up after a dangerous incident. I know there's going to be more of those. My silence with him will never solve the underlying issue."

"And the underlying issue is."

"We don't know how to be married."

"Or you are married to the wrong person."

She looked up at him, expecting anger. "No. I think this proves even more that Roy and I are soul mates. You can't understand because you haven't seen us together other that way." She made a fist with one hand and punched him lightly in the stomach. It felt like a light slap one did after they ate too much. "You saw right through it. Amazingly enough."

"A commander needed to be able to read people. Spending more time around you made you easier to read. You relax when you're around me."

"I used to."

She walked over to the door and opened it. This time intending to leave. "Thank you Edmund."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know."

"Tell him."

"I might."

"Riza."

"Stay away. For your own good and mine."

Edmund walked into the kitchen even before the door shut. He made himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. He leaned over the coffee mug and breathed in the steam, all the while letting the condensation reside on his skin in the form of small droplets of water. He hadn't intended to kiss her. In fact, he'd intended to tell her that he was leaving Central for a long while to set up a factory out East. That damn homunculus had to get in his way of doing that and then he just had to screw things up. At least now, he wouldn't— He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He reached into his jacket and removed his gun, and stood.

**-/-/-/-**

Riza didn't feel at ease until she left the neighborhood. Not because of the homunculus, it hadn't appeared since the restaurant, but because of the proximity to Edmund's house. She removed her handkerchief from her pocket and wiped off her lips, the little lip-gloss left there rubbing off on the white fabric. She shoved it back inside her pocket and sighed.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye!" She turned and saw Breda walking out from the train station. She waited until he was at her side. "You're out late."

"I had some things to do." She saw he was alone. "You brought the stone yourself?"

When his face dropped, so did her heart. "Marco was gone. They said that I was there before and I took him with me. At the time, I was at the hospital with you and the Colonel."

Riza froze. "That shape shifter."

"You're talking about Envy."

Riza could've kicked herself. Of course! Al had mentioned that he saw a homunculus named Envy change from a dog. What in the hell was wrong with her memory lately? _Get it together Riza._ "Yes, when I was out to dinner with Edmund, he took both our forms."

"Edmund Carnell? I didn't know you were seeing him."

She opened her mouth to tell him not to tell Roy but realized that, once again, she was trying to keep something from Roy. Instead, she opted to say, "I'm not. He's just a friend."

They started walking. She knew Breda's place was in the same direction as hers; she walked with him a few times after work. She enjoyed his company since he was a no bullshit type of guy. "Edmund's in on the loop about what the colonel is doing?"

"He knows about theColonel's aspirations, knows a little more about the homunculi. I kept him in the dark as much as possible, but I still regret he got thrown into this even a little."

Breda shrugged. "He'll manage. He doesn't have anything they want."

"Yes, you're right."

"You going to tell the Colonel?"

It was the second time Riza heard a variation of the question that night. This time she knew her answer. "Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I?"

**-/-/-**

When Riza walked into the hospital room the following morning, Roy was poking at the eggs on the breakfast tray with his fork. His dark eyebrows were furrowed with concentration, as if it took extreme effort to poke an egg and lift it up to his mouth. Considering what Roy thought about hospital food, it probably was.

"They're dead Roy. The baby chicks never developed in the egg." He looked up at her.

"I bet these aren't even real eggs."

"They're powered eggs. Dehydrated."

"Oh." His nose wrinkled. He lifted the fork to his mouth and took a bite. When she saw that he'd swallowed the egg, she moved a bag and a cup holder out from behind her back.

"So, since you're eating that, should I just throw this away?"

Roy looked at her, then at the bag. "A good breakfast?"

"Yes."

"Homemade?"

"Yes."

Annoyance coated over his face. "Why did you wait until I took a bite of the powdered shit before showing me that?"

She made sure to keep the smile off her face and didn't answer his question. Instead, she removed a covered dish from the bag. She handed it to him and sat a cup from the holder down on the table next to him. He grabbed it before even opening the lid on his plate. "Coffee?"

"Cocoa. You can't have coffee with your medicine."

"Cocoa is better anyway," he said. He took a large sip then sighed after he swallowed. "I love you."

It was true that the way to a man's heart was his stomach. Partially anyway. She moved the curtain to block the view of the door, leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. He grinned when she pulled away and reached up to touch her face. Sparks and warmth was the only way to describe his kiss with words.

She took another cup from the carrier and sat the carrier on the table with her hot chocolate still nestled in it. She walked around the bed and over to, a still sleeping, Havoc.

After sitting the plate and cup on the table beside the bed, she placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him.

"Wake up."

He groaned. "I told you I didn't want breakfast."

Riza took the plate and opened the lid on it. She stuck it near his nose and his eyes shot open. He looked at her for a second then at the tray. "You cooked?"

"Yes."

He grabbed the plate, picked up the plastic fork, and dug into the eggs like a starving man. Her surprise at his non-hesitant action must have showed because Roy said, "I told him you were the world's best cook."

"And he's right," Havoc said with his mouth full.

"Any idiot can fix bacon and eggs." She went back around Roy's bed to get her hot chocolate and then sat down. Neither man responded since they were too absorbed in their breakfast.

"Sir?"

"Yeah?"

"After you eat, we need to have a long talk."

He paused. "Something wrong?"

She nodded. "We'll talk later. Okay?"

"Yeah . . . okay."

**-/-/-**

Riza wanted to tell him how stupid he was for wanting to go to the roof, but as he sat down on one of the stairs in the stairwell, being only one flight away, she figured he didn't need to hear it. She sat down beside him, one-step above him, and leaned against the wall as well.

"Why'd you insist on trying for the roof?"

"It sounded like what you had to talk about was serious. I felt the roof is the safest place for us to talk. And excuse me for wanting to have some privacy with my wife." She knew he used a lower tone of voice just in case the stairway had an echo. It wasn't likely anyone was going to come up there, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Guilt sucker punched her. She looked down at her lap while reaching over to massage the back of his neck. "I'm sorry."

"What's wrong?"

"Huh?"

"I can tell from the tone that the apology was for more than the scolding you gave me just now."

She hadn't intended it to be such but when she thought about it, her tone did imply it was. "It's a long story."

"I'm not going to be running away any time soon."

She chuckled. "No I don't suppose."

His arm moved to hook around her waist, his hand rested on her hip. "I missed you. I know I haven't told you that in a while."

"Edmund kissed me."

"I'm sorry?" His tone was drenched with genuine confusion.

"Edmund kissed me."

His arm tightened around her, the opposite of what she'd been expecting, and he stared ahead. His face darkened and his tone followed suit. "Where were you?"

Her voice trembled as she spoke. "At his house."

"I see."

His calmness made the hairs prickle on her arm and her palms sweat. She felt like she did when she came upon a homunculus only without the tattoo burning. "You do?"

"Yes."

She looked up the stairs and wondered if she should leave for a while to let him reside in the tension she'd built. To let him hammer through it until he calmed his raging choler. The few times he got angry like this, he wanted to be alone.

"And just why were you in his house?" This time he spoke louder, not enough to echo in the stairwell, but was so loud in her mind it could've echoed all the way to Xing and back. She knew every nuance in his voice. Enough to tell he was pissed off on a level she'd never seen before. He still didn't move from his position, and didn't relinquish or relax the hold he had around her. After a long period of silence, he spoke again. "Well answer me. Why were you in his house?"

"Envy got after us. During dinner, he impersonated Edmund, then me. We had to escape from him. Before I knew it I—"

"Why were you out to dinner with him?" If there were a ladder of fury, Roy would've stepped up another rundle.

She swallowed. "I was coming back from your house and thought I was being followed by a homunculus. I met up with him and he offered to get me some dinner. He's a good friend so I accepted. The homunculus, Envy, showed up, we snuck away, and then we rushed to his place. I was inside before I knew it. I said I should leave, he got upset since he was worried about me, and then he pinned me against the door and kissed me before I could move."

Roy jerked his arm away from her, nodded, and went up a few steps. "Roof, now."

She watched as he turned the corner and moved to go up another flight, moving faster than before and showing no pain or sluggishness. _Probably adrenaline because he's so angry__**.**_

She stood and followed him. When she walked out onto the roof, she heard the door close behind her. She turned and saw Roy.

"Come here."

She did what he said without question, not revealing for a minute that she was terrified of his current state. He grabbed her shoulders, pushed her against the door, then kissed her. The kiss showed no anger even though she knew he felt it. It was warm, wonderful it was . . . his kissing. Distinguishingly a kiss that only her husband could give her. Her arms moved up and wrapped around his neck and her lips moved against his. His hands rested on either side of her at the door.

Then he pulled away. "That was better?"

She blinked and one eyebrow arched. "Of course it was! I never kissed him back!"

"Good." He walked away and over to the edge of the building to look out onto the city. She stayed in her place and listened to him grumble a few times before he spoke. "Don't see him again."

"Okay."

He turned, looking surprised. "Okay? That's it? You're just going to do what I said?"

"If I told you to stay away from the girls, that I wasn't comfortable with you around them. Would you do it?"

"Yes."

"Well then."

She walked over to him. "Besides, I'm not doing it just because you said so. I care about him as a friend and he's not safe if he gets around me. I don't want to suck him in anymore than he is already."

His face pushed together in a cringe. "Please do not use the word suck in the same sentence with him.

Riza didn't understand what he meant at first but then it dawned on her and her face mirrored his. "Ugh. Only you would think of something like that."

He moved to look back out at the city, leaning against the tall stone wall that went around the top of the building. She approached him, wrapped her arms around him from behind (being mindful of his injury) and leaned forward to kiss the back of his neck. "You're angry at me?"

"No. I'm just wondering where he lives."

She buried her face at the back of his neck and chuckled. "You aren't going to set him on fire."

"Just his head?"

"No."

"His dick?"

She snorted. "Roy."

He turned and sat down, leaning his back against the wall. She followed suit. "Just how did he get dragged into our situation anyway?"

She told him everything about meeting Edmund and her excursion into the sewers. The looks that appeared on his face made her hesitant to continue but she was determined to push through. When she finished she forced herself not to look away. The quiet that resided with them was worse than if he yelled.

"You're such an idiot," he finally said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him. She rested against his chest.

"I'm not an idiot. I did what was needed."

"You weren't going to tell me were you?"

"No. Not until Edmund brought up the point that our marriage wasn't very strong."

Roy exhaled. "Can I at least set his hand on fire?"

She buried her face at his chest and laughed. "I think he's wrong. We have our weak points but if our marriage wasn't solid then we wouldn't have stayed together all this time."

"I'm surprised he didn't say something about us not really being married because it's not submitted."

"He did. He said he's not giving up until we submit our license. But I think he was just saying that to annoy me. He knows he has no chance."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely. I want to stay with you until I die."

"Let's make sure that's a long time from now."

Riza knew she couldn't guarantee that, neither of them could, but she'd try her best to make that the case. She wanted to be old and grey with Roy when she passed away. Preferably before him. "As best we can anyway."

"And from now on tell me before you go off gallivanting around sewers."

"There was nothing gallivanting about it. It was disgusting."

"Riza. Promise me."

She chuckled and looked up at him. "I promise I won't go traipsing around in the sewers without telling you. I won't go traipsing anywhere without telling you okay?"

"Good." He kissed her forehead. "Now let's get back inside. Breda should be back in—"

"Damn it, how could I have forgotten?"

"What?"

She groaned. "Marco is gone. Envy posed as Breda and took him."

Roy punched the floor. "Goddamn it."

"I told Breda to stay out of site for the day. He can't move freely anymore."

Roy nodded. "I figured something like that would happen. Shit." Riza got to her feet and helped him stand. "We'll figure out a way to get Havoc to walk again."

"Yes, sir."

He must have heard doubt in her voice. She hadn't intended it to be there. "You don't think we can?"

Riza walked over to the door with him and opened it. "After what I've seen, nothing strikes me as impossible anymore."

**-/-/-**

Roy and Riza stopped in the hallway when they spotted a short, older lady leaving the room in tears. She was accompanied by a military officer, his face wearing a pitying expression.

They entered the room and walked over to Havoc. He was sitting up in bed. A pile of forms rested on his lap and his gaze rested out the window.

"Who was that? Roy asked.

"My mother and an officer from the veteran's union. After talking to them, I decided to go ahead with my retirement. No, that's not true. I decided the moment I found out about my inability to walk again."

"We don't know for sure that nothing can be done. There could be a sur—"

Havoc gripped the blankets at his waist. "Stop sugar coating it. I'm not a child and I'm not dumb enough to think I have a chance. I'm useless."

"You're wrong."

Riza wanted to look away from the distressed look on her friend's face but couldn't. Havoc was almost as loyal to Roy as she was. If she were in Havoc's situation, she'd feel entirely helpless as well.

Havoc glared up at him. "Don't try to tell me you need a pawn that can't move."

Riza almost jumped when Havoc's voice turned furious. "And don't look at me like that. Don't you dare!" He grabbed Roy's shirt and pulled him down so they were eye to eye. "Forget about me and move on! You need to remember the promise you made to General Hughes! I don't need you pitying a worthless bastard like me!"

Riza rushed to Havoc and grabbed his shoulders. "Lieutenant Havoc!"

His breathing was rushed; she could feel his heartbeat through where her hands pressed into his body. "Let him go Havoc."

Havoc looked down. "Move on and let me go on with my life. I beg you." His voice was so soft, so sorrowful, that she wanted to tear up. It probably felt like a knife stabbing into Roy.

Roy gently grabbed his wrist, and moved his hand. His own voice was the same tone, the same volume as Havoc's as he said, "Alright. You're cut loose." Havoc inhaled roughly.

He turned. "I'll leave you behind for now. But I'll see you at the top. Be ready." He left the room.

Riza helped Havoc lean back. "He doesn't give up. He didn't even think of turning his back on me."

"You're his wife."

"I'm his subordinate too. I'd given up on living. It's not in his nature to just abandon others. He refused to. He's always been that way. "

He groaned and covered his eyes with his forearm. Riza sat down on a chair beside the bed. "He's an idiot. He's not going to get anywhere with feelings like that."

"He seems to be doing well so far."

"This country will chew him up if he keeps acting this soft."

She shook her head. "I don't think so. This country needs a fool like that man."

Havoc looked at her. "Do you think I should give up?"

"I'm the wrong person to ask. I gave up when I thought he wasn't alive."

"And if he dies. What will you do?"

She stood. "I really don't know." It was a lie but Havoc didn't need to know that. She gave him a kind smile. "I will say that I don't want you to give up Havoc. None of us do."

She left the room and made her way down the hall until she saw Roy. He was leaning over, his face contorting in pain, and his hand covering his injury. When she approached, he looked up at her and with a stern voice said, "Get me my uniform."

"You're not ready to leave the hospital yet."

"Just go get it."

She knew it would be futile to argue with him. "Right away sir."

* * *

**AN: I had such a good time writing out this chapter, though it was difficult getting it the way I wanted. Hope you enjoyed it and please drop a comment my way if time permits. I appreciate every one. **

**AAN: My friend The Dark Spirit made another video for this section. You can watch it here. http: / www. Youtube . com/ watch? v=Ve7WeD1mf48**


	96. The Deal?

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 96: The Deal?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist but I own my idea. **

* * *

Riza questioned the wisdom of Roy leaving the hospital even more when he released another groan of pain, what seemed like the hundredth in the past hour and a half they'd been in the office. It was bad enough he left against medical advice, but he had to take it a step further and insist on going to the office.

She felt the pencil in her grasp bend, and when he groaned again, it snapped. The top flipped into the air and landed on the floor, making a small clack. He didn't even look up. She stood, walked over to him, and yanked his pen out of his hand as he wrote. He moved his hand a few centimeters before he realized there was no pen in it, proof enough his observation skills weren't in the condition for work yet.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

She grabbed the journal he sketched in, placed the pen in the middle, and shut it. "You're going to go back to the hospital, Sir."

"Since when do you have the authority to decide that?"

"You're useless right now. You keep groaning and you haven't done any of your paperwork. You can plan in your diary just as easily in a hospital bed where there are medical personnel looking after you."

"It isn't a diary. It's a journal."

She ignored his protest regarding the book."Come on, let's go."

"I'm not going to the hospital. I'm fine. Now give me back my—" a hiss left him when he reached for his journal. He grabbed his side.

"See?"

He stared up at her with a pleading gaze. "I can't go back there."

She knew instantly what the issue soaking in him was. Havoc. Roy still felt guilty and didn't want to face him right now. When she got his clothing earlier he'd even went as far as changing in the men's room. She understood his hesitance and wouldn't argue, wouldn't make herself into a hypocrite this time. She did the same thing with him after the Lust incident.

He took his journal from her, put it in his jacket's inner pocket, and shook his head. "Let me do a bit of work first. We've been taking a lot of sick days and the office is way behind."

"Not so much. I've been working on non-classified papers at home during my time off. We're only forty percent behind right now."

Roy nodded. "Still, I haven't been pulling my weight."

"You never pull you weight."

He nearly fell over at her words. "How cruel of you."

She shrugged. "It's true. And why is it you want to work when you shouldn't, but don't want to work when you should?"

Roy muttered and took one of the papers from his desk. He glanced over it before he signed at the bottom. "When I should, there aren't any circumstances I need to take my mind off of."

She placed her hand on top of his. "Roy. Let's go."

"After what he said . . . I have to leave him behind. He looked up at her. "There's no way to help him Lieutenant. No surgery, no medicines." He threw his pen down on the desk. "And the only person with the only thing that could help him is missing!"

It seemed wrong that his voice didn't echo through the office. There was silence and tension absorbing into their skin like lotion. She took a deep breath.

"He doesn't blame you for what happened, and stop talking like he's helpless. After he gets over his initial shock, he'll realize it too and will find a way to make good on his promise to support you."

"You sound so sure."

"I am." She was happy she was being honest. If she were in Havoc's position, she'd feel hopeless for a while but would find a way to help him in his goal. No matter how small the gesture might be, as long as she still breathed, she'd be there for him in any way possible. "Now, please. Go back to the hospital."

"No, but I will go home." He laid his hand on a thin stack of papers. "Just let me finish these. Make myself feel useful at the very least."

She nodded. "Okay. She moved back over to her desk and picked up a stack of papers that needed delivered. The door opened and Fuery came inside.

"Sir! Should you be out of the hospital?"

He didn't look up from his papers as he spoke. "I'm fine Sergeant. I need to catch up on a few things here but I'll be going home in a few minutes."

"Fuery, please take these to the weapons department then get me whatever other paperwork is due."

"There isn't anymore," he said.

"Pardon?"

"Falman and I did them all on our shifts. The forms you filled out were the things requiring your signature. That's it."

"So other than what the Colonel is doing..."

"Everything is up to date."

Riza smiled at him and let her colder work tone transform into a kind one. "Thank you Fuery."

He returned the smile, stunning Riza that he was unfazed by her change in demeanor. "I'll take these to weapons now."

"That's a surprise," Riza said when Fuery left the office.

"Why? He and Falman knew the situation and did their part."

Riza nodded. "Not just that."

"What?"

"He smiled back at me."

Roy looked up at her. "They don't really think you're a cold bitch you know. They're just afraid of your work side, that's all."

"I see." She looked at the door, her smile widening. "It's wonderful to know."

After scratching his signature on the last form, he dropped the pen in its holder and stood, moving much slower than usual.

Riza gathered the forms and took them over to the file cabinet. After locking them up—the office where they belonged was closed by now—she turned and saw him attempt to slip on his coat. Each time his left arm moved backward, the injury would stretch and he'd hiss. She walked over to him and lifted the sleeve over his arm. She moved around to face him.

"Come home with me?" he asked.

"It's too dangerous. In fact, it's not safe for you to be at your place right now either. You can't fight well right now."

"Are you inviting me to your apartment then?" he wore his flirty grin as he spoke and she knew he was trying to fluster her.

"No, I'm telling you to sleep in a gutter."

He chuckled and leaned forward to kiss her, but she moved out of the way before their lips touched. She went over to her desk to slip on her coat and get her purse.

He sighed and adjusted his collar. "Did you get the bed?"

"Huh?"

"The bed I had back East. I told you it was in storage and you could have it."

"Oh, yes. I got it. Though it takes up almost all the space in my tiny bedroom. My apartment is much smaller than the one I had before."

Her brows furrowed. "Why didn't you just move into a bigger place? You could've had your bed and not have to sleep on the couch. That thing is—"

"Hey, don't bash my couch. Besides, no one would expect a colonel to live in a small rent house. It's good subterfuge. It's no different from you living in a dump of a neighborhood."

Riza nodded. "The homunculi probably followed me to your place, otherwise they wouldn't have known."

"That doesn't have to be the case. They have other ways of finding out information. Remember, someone in the military has something to do with them. They could merely get access to my file to find my address. Yours too."

"I just have my mailing address on file. I don't get mail at my apartment building. I get it at the post."

"But you said you could feel the homunculi. Did you feel one following you on the way to my place?"

_That__'__s __right,__ I__ didn__'__t._ "No, you're right."

"Speaking of . . . We need to figure out what's going on with the tattoo. Maybe find out th—" She put her hand over his mouth as her back tingled. Not enough to be uncomfortable but enough to warn a homunculus was in the vicinity. When it eased, yet didn't fade, she moved her hand. She moved it to the pencil holder and tapped one of the pens twice against its container. "Let me drive you home, Sir."

He walked to the door. "Very well, Lieutenant. Thank you."

**-/-/-**

Roy didn't speak as they drove through the gates of headquarters. To anyone else, Riza would've appeared calm. As if this was a normal drive home after work. He could see she was on guard. Her shoulders tensed a bit more than usual, her body was stiffer than it normally was when she drove. Her eyes darted around the environment before settling back on the road. She didn't protest, or glance in his direction when he'd gotten into the front seat with her back at HQ.

After another block, he saw her body relax. "Homunculi?"

"Yes. It was a good distance away, but I wanted to play it safe."

He reached over and massaged the back of her neck. "As much as you probably don't like this quirk of yours, I do."

"What?" She glanced at him before putting her focus back onto the road.

"I like the fact you're able to sense them. You can keep yourself out of danger with it."

She licked her lips and her grip tightened. "What would you think if I told you I think Bradley is one? That I got the feeling around him."

His eyes widened. "I'd think there must be one in the proximity when you talk to him."

"So you wouldn't believe it?"

He leaned back, ran his hand through his hair, and sighed. It would make so much sense if he were one of them, but at the same time, he didn't want to think the corruption went so high up. There was no way he could get away with it without having people under him know about his abnormal state. It would mean almost all of high command was corrupt. Roy looked at her. "So you think he actually is, or was the question hypothetical?" He hoped for the latter as an answer.

"He is. I have little doubt of it."

"Shit."

She pulled into the back parking area of her apartment building and they headed up to her place.

"You hungry?"

"Yeah, a little."

"I'll fix something after I change clothes. I have some of your clothes in the bedroom if you want to get out of your uniform."

"Sounds great."

**-/-/-**

He smiled as he sank down on Riza's soft couch and leaned his head back. His eyes followed her movements in the kitchen as she worked on heating some water. They trailed along her sides and his lips moved into a grin. It wasn't often he could watch her while she was both unaware and in civilian clothes. He took the time to appreciate how special the feminine form was, more specifically, her feminine form. He could look at any female in public and see curves, some too much and some not enough for his personal tastes, but they wouldn't be _her_ curves.

"Why are you grinning at me like that?"

He snapped out of his thoughts and saw she stared at him with a stern look. "Come over here."

She walked over to where his head leaned back. "What is it?"

When he tapped his lips with one of his fingers, she laughed, placed her hands on both sides of his face, leaned down, and kissed him. "You had me come all the way in here for that?" she asked when she pulled away.

"What? Wasn't it worth it?"

She kissed him again. "It's always worth it." She went back into the kitchen.

Whether she admitted to it or not, he could tell his random acts of silliness made her happy. Seeing her smile was worth any action he had to take to get it.

He started to lie down on the couch but the phone interrupted his movement. Before he could reach for it, Riza picked it up. "Hello?"

He took her free hand, led her around the table, and pulled her so she sat beside him. His arm wrapped around her shoulders and hugged her close.

"Edmund? You okay?"

Roy's eyes narrowed at the phone. Why in the hell was he calling her? The man was either ignorant or an idiot. "What does that bastard think he's doing?"

She placed two fingers on his lips. "Yes, I'm fine. No, they didn't follow me home."

Roy removed her fingers. "Let me talk to him." When she looked at him disbelievingly he continued, "I'll be polite."

"Someone wants to talk to you." A pause. "Yes, it's Roy."

He took the phone and before she let go she said, "He was just calling to see if I'm all right."

"I know, I know," he said. "I can't commit murder through a phone line anyway."

She chuckled and went into the kitchen when she heard the pot whistling. He lifted the phone to his ear. "If I didn't have such excellent control of my temper you'd be a human bonfire." He made sure his voice was menacing as he spoke. He wasn't nearly as furious with Edmund as he was before but wanted to scare the man a little. Make sure he didn't try a move like that again if he and Riza made contact again.

He heard a chuckle and his anger spiked. Did this guy think what he did was a joke?" "She told you so soon?" Edmund sighed. "Well that's good I suppose."

"Don't touch her again. If you do, I'll burn your dick off."

"Well, whether I touch her or not will be solely up to Riza."

This guy was pushing his luck. "And she's already told you to stay away from her."

"Yes, she's told me."

"And you're going to do it."

"She's all yours Mustang. I know when I'm beat. Besides, I didn't plan to kiss. I was just concerned about her and did impulsively. She didn't make a single move to kiss back."

Roy noted a bit of disappointment in his voice. It was understandable. If he were single, and a woman as beautiful as his wife didn't kiss him back, he'd be disappointed as well. He'd let the tone slide. "I still want to make it clear to—"

"Stay away, yeah. Well you'll be happy to know I'll be out east for an extended period. A few hundred miles away."

An odd thought came to his mind but he squashed it flat. It sounded like he was talking to himself over the phone. If Edmund hadn't done what he had, the two could be good friends. Maes liked him enough to have him as part of the groomsmen, Roy tended to stay away from him during the wedding festivities. But still, this guy would be good for . . .

"I have a favor to ask of you."

"You expect me to grant you a favor after you threatened to turn me into a human bonfire and burn my dick off?"

"Just listen," he snapped. "It involves Riza's well being."

He stayed silent for long enough that Roy thought he left the phone off the hook while he was still connected. "I'm listening."

"I haven't given too much thought about this until recently, for reasons you may or may not know. My request is if something happens to me, and she survives, I want you to take care of her."

Edmund laughed. "I think Riza is capable of taking care of herself."

"I have no doubts about her capability, it's just her desire."

"What do you mean?"

Roy looked down at his lap, trying to formulate a way to tell Edmund about her decision. "She said if I don't live, she won't continue living." He paused and waited for Edmund to react before continuing, "I want to make sure she doesn't go through with it."

"Riza . . . she's not so foolish."

"She is, because I am. I can't imagine not having her in this world, whether I'm here or not. It would give me peace of mind to know she's not going to kill herself if I die."

Edmund exhaled. "You're something. No way could I compete."

"What?"

"I'll do what's best for her if it ever happens. That's all I can promise," Edmund said. "But you'd better make sure you do your best to stay alive for her sake."

"I plan on it."

"Good."

"Good."

Without as much as a goodbye, they both hung up.

"Are you happy with yourself? Because you know Edmund isn't going to stop me."

Roy didn't turn around to look at her. He didn't have to. She walked in front of him and sat the tray of sandwiches and food down on the table. She straightened. "Why in the hell did you tell him that?"

"We're a lot alike. I think he could be a good reason for you to—"

"He's not you." Her statement froze any words he was going to say. She sank down onto the couch. "I don't want him."

"Riza, he's not as brilliant or as handsome as I am but he's a good man that you can—"

"You're bound and determined to make me send you back to the hospital aren't you?"

Roy took her hand, lifted it to his lips, and kissed it. "What you've said, you giving up with Lust. It weighs on my mind unless I push it back. I just want you to live on if something happens to me."

"Like Gracia did with Maes?"

"Yes."

"Gracia has Elecia to live for."

"What? Are you saying you want a child?"

"I'm saying that right now she has a reason to live on. I don't."

"You have Hayate."

The dog looked up. "It's nothing boy."

She shook her head. "There's no good in my life without you in it. I've been tied to you for so long that I'd die. If not by my own hand, then by someone else's."

"I don't like that idea."

She reached forward and took a sandwich off the tray. "You won't know. You'll be dead."

When he opened his mouth to reply, she shoved her sandwich in it. "Shut up and eat."

* * *

**AN: I wanted to add a bit more onto this chapter but I both am late on a promised update and I'm not sure if I still want to go where I had planned. This chapter went in a completely different direction than the first draft I had, the next probably will as well.**

**Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please leave a review if you have the time. Good luck to everyone with the tests from hell coming up (Midterms/ACT/SAT/PSAT).**


	97. Scars and Scar

**Best**** Kept**** Secret**

**Author: ****MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter**** 97:**** Scars**** and**** Scar**

**All**** standard**** disclaimers**** apply.**

**AN: I Don't know what in the hell is the deal with this sites document format but its fudging up even more now. I've fixed things but some words I've missed may be running together. I'm hoping I got them all.**

* * *

Riza groaned and snuggled her face close to warmth as she felt fingers stroking her back, their tips barely skimming her flesh. She shifted her back muscles to relieve the slight tickle. Her lips formed into a content expression when she felt a kiss behind her ear and a voice whisper, "Wake up beautiful. It's not like you to sleep in.

She opened her eyes and realized she was resting on Roy's chest with her arm slung over his waist. She looked up at him and smiled. "What time is it?"

"It's a little before six."

She snuggled her head against him again. "We don't have to be at work until nine."

"I know, but you're usually up by six."

"Yes, but that was back east when work started at eight."

He pulled her tighter. "So that means we have an extra hour in bed?"

She closed her eyes and focused on his heartbeat, treasuring each one. "Are you in any pain?"

"A little but it'll fade. I'll never get promoted though if I keep getting hurt," he said.

"Then you need to stop rushing into the field when one of us is in danger." When Roy didn't respond right away, she raised her head to see if he was mad. He was staring at her; his head raised just enough the end of his hair skimmed the pillows.

"That's easy to say when you're the one in danger but when the person you love is possibly going to die then…"

She couldn't argue with him. "It's different, yes, you're right."

He lay his head back down on the pillow. "I bet the higher ups are tickled pink at my frequent injuries. They'll have a drinking party over my grave if I ever die."

"But the fuehrer called an ambu—never mind. He must've had another reason since he's one of them."

"Speaking of the bastard and homunculus, we need to look closer at your tattoo."

She sat up. "Yes."

"You said it burns when one is nearby? That should be impossible since I destroyed a part of it. The tattoo shouldn't have the ability in any way."

"It shouldn't, but it does. But it doesn't explain my other bodily reactions either unless it's somehow causing them."

"Are you absolutely sure it's just not your instincts or something? You've always had razor sharp ones."

"That could explain the other reactions I suppose, but the tattoo burning along itself."

"Along itself?"

"In a pattern. From the scar to the right and then around. Then the pain transverses to the middle areas. If the homuculi is really close, it burns all at once. So yes, I'm sure there's something going on with it."

"Let's have another look. Turn around."

She turned her back to him and let the blanket drop from her torso. "Got a magnifying glass?"

She stood, left the room, and soon returned with what he requested. She sat back down in front of him. He leaned forward, and studied around the top of the tattoo, every single symbol, and then the words.

"Maybe the poem has something to do with it."

"Poem?"

"I never told you that there's part of a poem on your back?"

"No."

"It's called Pervigilium Veneris. Totus est in armis idem quando nudus est Amor. Cras amet qui mumquam amavit quique amavit cras amet. Perdidi Musam tacendo, nec me Phoebus respicit. Sic Amyclas, cum tacerent, perdidit silentium."

"As lovely sounding as that is, what does it mean in Amestrian?"

"He is totally armed as he is nude. Love tomorrow, loveless ones! And you who have loved, love tomorrow. I lost my Muse by being silent, and Apollo does not care for me. Thus the silence destroyed Amylcae, when they did not speak. Pardon."

"Well that makes me feel better. Now I'm a poetry book as well."

"You don't think that sounds like he regrets what he did?"

"He tattooed alchemy secrets on his young daughter's back, Roy. I don't give a shit if it's an apology or not." She stiffened. Where did that outburst come from?

She felt him kiss the back of her neck and his hands massaging her shoulders. "I always thought you were angry about this so I was waiting for some sort of outburst regarding it."

"I wasn't expecting it."

"Felt good?'

_Very__ good.__ "_So have you heard anything in the poem that might detect homunculus detecting abilities?"

He stopped massaging her. "Don't change the subject."

"I wasn't. As I recall we were trying to figure out why the tattoo hurts."

He picked up the magnifying glass again. "Well there's nothing in the text that leads me to believe it's a homunculus detector."

"How about the part you destroyed? Do you remember what it was?" She realized what a stupid question she'd asked. Roy had a steel trap memory when it came to alchemy so of course he remembered.

"Nothing in - wait. I remember the last time I checked there was something usual about the tittle."

She looked over her shoulder at him, eyebrow raised. "The what?"

He chuckled. "It's one of those little known facts I heard from Falman once. The dot on top of I's and J's are called tittles."

"Ah."

"And the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body."

Okay, where did that come from? She blushed as her thoughts went into the realms where Roy's thoughts usually stayed. She jumped when Roy whispered in her hear. "You pervert you."

"Shut up and check my tits- Tittles! Check the damn Tittles." Her mind always turned into a pervert when she was alone and in bed with Roy.

"Can I check your-."

"Roy."

He laughed and went about studying them. "What the...Riza, did he do this bit by bit? Did you come back repeatedly for a few days?"

"No, it happened within hours. I would've run away after the first time if it were several days. Why?"

"He couldn't have been this detailed all at once without. . . What do you remember?"

She swallowed and realized he'd never asked her about it. "I don't remember much about it. I know he grabbed me and told me he needed my help. I was a child and wanted to help him. He made me take off my shirt and sit up on his desk, back..." She closed her eyes and gripped the sheets at her side. She remembered it being so dark in the room, she remembered seeing his almost glowing eyes that looked so much like her own but held no empathy. She remembered it was cold and her skin prickled and ached because of it.

She didn't hate him . . . "Riza," she heard Roy say, as if comforting her through her memories. They'd never struck her this way before, but then again, she'd never relayed them verbally.

"My back faced him, and he pushed me down on the table. I tried to get up because I was scared but he told me to stay down or he'd punish me. Then I remember him putting something over my back, something thick, like a lotion or paste. I felt pressure, a burning, and then I remember screaming so loud by throat ached and I lost consciousness. When I woke up I was alone in the room, it was about an hour later."

His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back against him. "I'm sorry I haven't asked you about it until now."

"I never wanted to talk about it."

"I. . . I'm not much better than him am I?"

She twisted around. "I asked you to burn me. I didn't ask him to mark me for life. Don't you dare compare yourself to him. You love me. He never did." She turned back around.

"Sorry." He sighed. "He couldn't have done this by hand directly on skin, it's too detailed and the body is too fickle. There's definitely something intricate in the tittles, but I can't make it out. Unless your father put this on with alchemy, I can't for the life of me figure how he'd be able to sketch something so small in your skin with needle and ink."

"So you're saying it might not be a tattoo?"

"A burn scar of some kind. It makes sense but he did something different with it. The burning usually remains a bit puckered and turns pinkish. Probably has to do with the paste substance you mentioned. Do you remember how he treated it?"

"Treated it." She scoffed. "He just left me alone. I didn't see him again until after it had time to heal. I just remember how much it burned and that it puckered for a short time before turning the way it is now."

"Cretian technique of skin burning. Similar to tattooing."

"It would make a lot of sense," she said.

"Did the tattoo peel at all?'

"No."

He shook his head. "This is not a standard ink tattoo."

"Despite the method, it still doesn't tell us why it hurts when I'm around homunculi."

Roy slouched and his face wrinkled. He snorted. "The secret is in those damned tittles and not knowing what's in them is maddening. I'll search through your father's notebooks and the small amount of other information he left. Until then we'll have to stick with not knowing."

"I gave you the diagram of the symbol on the door where we fought Lust. It's in your living room. Maybe it can help." She turned around to face him. "At least whatever he did was handy, even if it is painful when they're close. It was hard to contain the pain when Envy was so close."

"How about carrying pain medicine with you. Just enough to ease it."

"I'll have to try it. I'll see the doctor about what's safe and won't hinder my work performance."

Roy lifted a hand to her face leaned in and kissed her. He pulled away and looked at her body, admiringly. "You know what?"

"What?"

"You're a wonderful subordinate and an even better wife."

She smiled. "I try my best."

He leaned closer. "You know what else?"

"What?"

"I like the tittles in the front better than the back."

She hit him with a pillow. Leave it to him to turn sweetness into something perverted.

_**-/-/-**_

Roy tapped his fingers on the armrest as they drove in the car searching the city. He was having a nice breakfast with Riza, with beautiful music playing on the radio, when a newsflash hit. It wouldn't have been a big deal if it hadn't been about his young subordinate gallivanting around the city like some invincible alchemic superhero. He folded his arms across his chest and sighed.

"Ed probably has a good reason for what he's doing. It was stupid of me to go into the sewers but I had good reason."

"Says you."

"And as I recall, you've done dumb things without reason."

Roy huffed. "Name one." She opened her mouth but he cut her off. "One that doesn't have to do with the Scar or Gluttony circumstances. Those were good reasons."

"You lost your shoes in the sand pile when you jumped from the barn. There was no reason for jumping."

Wow, she was going back in the years. The more he thought about the things he did, the more he realized she might be right. He wouldn't admit it though. "I did it to impress you."

"It didn't work and I ended up having to pull you out."

"It gave you advanced practice for our future." Roy shifted in his seat, his hand moved to his side. "Prancing around when Scar is loose is ridiculous."

"Maybe he's fishing."

"Where was he last?"

"District 5 and right there he is."

"Huh?"

They pulled up to a café was Ed sat. He had a cup in his hand, one foot on the table, and his nose raised in the air. Hawkeye pulled up next to them and he rolled down the window. "Careful Fullmetal, your noise is raised so high if it rains you might drown."

Riza studied his posture. "Get your feet off the table Edward, it's bad manners. You know better."

Ed put his feet down and straightened, looking admonished.

Roy was amused by Edward's quick reaction to his wife's admonishment but didn't let it show. "What in the hell do you think you're doing?" Roy said before Edward could smart off to him.

"You're the last person I was hoping to see."

"Yes I figured." Roy leaned back trying to get comfortable in the seat. "You're still pissed off right?"

"I'm always pissed off at you." He walked over to the car and leaned on the window. "Ross told me everything so I'm not angry at you for that anymore."

"But we're sorry for what we said," Al said.

Roy waved it off. "Forget it. It's not like you're very wrong about it."

Ed's brows furrowed. "I heard about what happened to Havoc too. Why don't you ask Doctor Mar—?"

Roy held up his hand. "Let's not talk here. It's too public. Get in the car."

Ed got in the front seat beside Hawkeye. When Al got in the back with Roy, he pushed him tightly against the side of the car. "Don't think this is going to work," he groaned. "Let's meet in a nearby alley."

"Sorry," Al said.

**-/-/-**

They made their way to the alley and Roy and Riza got out of the car. He faltered in a step when pain rushed through his side, but it wasn't anything Ed or Al would notice. He leaned against the car and removed his journal from his coat pocket.

"About Dr. Marco," Roy said. "The homunculi must have taken him captive."

"But why? Dr. Marco said he used to make the stones for the military in their labs and that the stones were used in Ishbal."

Roy nodded. "They were. The military gave them to all the alchemists to amplify their power."

"The stones, homunculi, and the military. How are they all connected?"

"Edward, what would you do if I told you that—?"

When Riza cocked her gun, they all looked to the end of the alley. Scar stood there, legs spread, arms at his side, with his hands tense. He looked like a bull ready to charge them.

"Looks like he decided to accept your invite Fullmetal," Roy said as he put his journal back into his jacket pocket. The kid really knew how to get attention when he wanted it.

"He he, you're drenched in sweat Colonel." He looked sidewards at Roy. "Something wrong?"

_Smart-ass __kid._ "Look in a mirror Fullmetal."

Riza, tired of the talk, moved to attack. "Lieutenant wait! Don't shoot him."

"Why the hell not?" Roy would have laughed at the way she'd spoke it if the situation hadn't been so serious.

Scar slammed his hands down on the pavement. It ripped up with a thunderous roar, then exploded beneath them, knocking the car onto its side. She flipped out of the way, grabbing Roy just in time to keep from getting caught in the blast. She covered him as chunks of rock and debris pelted them. They sat up.

Ed rushed Scar.

"Alphonse, has your brother gone suicidal? What does he think he's doing? " Roy asked.

"He decided to take a tip from you and go fishing. We're using ourselves as bait so he can draw out the homunculi. Since they need us, they won't let Scar kill us. If we do this then we can figure out just who is involved in the military and stop them."

"That's insane," Roy said. It shouldn't have surprised him they were being so reckless. He chuckled. Of course, Riza would call him the same thing so he'd be hypocritical for trying to stop the two boys.

"You're odds are low Al. What if the MP's shoot him down before the homunculi come out?" Riza asked.

"Well that's where the Colonel could help."

Riza kept her eyes on Ed and Scar but she chuckled as she heard what Al said.

"You boys have a lot of nerve." He smirked. "Fine, I help but I'd better get a large chunk of the spoils."

"You bet!" Al stood and rushed towards Scar to help Ed.

Roy struggled to stand; his hand reached under his coat and gripped his side. He hated to think his wife was right and he wasn't ready to be out there. Still, he had to do whatever he could regardless of his condition.

Roy looked up and, in the distance, saw the tower where everything with the Lab 5 incident started. That meant… "This is perfect. Lieutenant, Fuery's other house is in this area. Let's go."

"Yes, Sir."

She rushed down the street toward a car. When the couple spotted her gun, they raised their hands as if being robbed. "We're confiscating this car for military business."

"Yes, Ma'am!" When she lowered her gun, the couple dashed down the street.

When they got into the car, Roy started laughing. She glared at him. "What's so funny?"

"They looked like they shit themselves, I love when you direct that look at people other than me."

She hid her smile as she started the started the vehicle and sped toward their destination.

-/-/-

Fuery's "other place" was more organized than expected. He had shelves full of costumes, weapons, and piles upon piles of radios, both broken and repaired. They rushed over to the ones they knew worked— the ones in front of the window—and Roy flipped the window shutters open to get more air into the room. He started to plop down on the floor, but Riza grabbed his arm before he could do so. She snatched a pillow from the raggedy old couch and threw it on the floor. "It's not good for you to sit on something so hard right now."

She sat down and he followed, thankful for the soft cushion she'd placed under him. He put on a set of headphones and flipped through the notebook Fuery sat upon the radios. "Here's the frequency for HQ's radio equipment. Wow, Fuery is something."

Riza turned on the radio and set the frequency as Roy spoke into the headset. He held his nose as he spoke, making him sound more like a chipmunk than a military soldier. "Headquarters, this is Patrol Three of the Central City military police. We are being attacked by Scar! We are in sector seven. Requesting immediate reinforcements! AHHHHHHH. No no! NO!" Roy kicked off the channel and chuckled. "This is fun! What voice should I do next?" he asked, looking at Riza. She gave him a stern look; he coughed and clicked the frequency back on.

"This is Patrol Five! We need help, it's Scar!"

Roy continuously spoke into the microphone, varying each story about each sector while Riza did the same, in much better disguised voices than her significant other. "From the sound of it, it seems things are getting chaotic at the radio station in HQ."

"Good," Roy said. He switched his radio back on. "This is central city MP sector eight calling HQ. There's a young man fighting Scar, the young man is a state alchemist. Do not fire. I repeat, do not fire!"

Then they waited, listening to the confusion occurring during the battle on the streets. Roy was worried for the two young men fighting the extremely skilled serial killer.

"A close friend of the Fullmetal alchemist is now in protective custody," a voice over the radio said. Roy's hearing perked.

"Where are you?" another said.

"We're in Sector eight on St. Louis Street."

Another voice. "An explosion sighted at the old auto warehouse. Possibly Scar, sector three report was false. We're in sector eight. Repeat. Sector eight. Auto warehouse at the train tracks."

"Roger."

Roy looked at Riza, who was already on her feet and over at the cabinet. He grabbed his notebook as she grabbed a long white coat and Fuery's glasses from the cabinet. "There's an empty house in the suburbs we can use." He jotted down the address and she went over to him. She took it and he grabbed her wrist. "Be careful."

"Always."

She started to move away but he pulled her toward him. "Bend down here."

She did so and he reached behind her head and unclipped her hair. "That hairstyle is too identifying."

"I was going to take it down."

"Yes, but that doesn't give me an excuse to do this."

He gave her a quick kiss. "Make sure you're not followed."

"Of course, Sir. If I make any progress I'll call you here so please don't move."

"Got ya."

She opened the door and left. He placed his headphones back on his head. He jumped and fell off his pillow as the door opened again. "And do not enter the battle Sir.'

He grinned at her. "I know, I know. Go." He wouldn't be of use to her even if he did.

* * *

**AN: Sorry for the long wait. November was nanowrimo and though I wrote some things on this (two chapters), a new fiction took over my brain. **

**The idea for her scar came to me when one of my friends got another skin-burning tattoo. After looking at it, I noticed that one of his remained red, very similar to Riza's tattoo on her back, while the other one was pink. His new one was still creepy. XD So I made up a technique for this story on his suggestion. (Thank you Malcom!) Thank you Riri for the kick in the ass to get me to write the final draft of this. **

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please drop a comment if you have the time. For those waiting on Vacuous Heart of Blood, I'm working on it.  
**

**CREDIT: Credit to the Latin Translation of the Tattoo goes to angelalegna. I would give the link to the Live Journal but when I went back to get it, found out it was deleted and purged. Much to my horror. T_T **


	98. Comrade Similarities Pt 1

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 98: Comrade Similarities**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. **

**AN: Thank goodness no issues with doc manager this time.  
**

* * *

As she sped through the narrow streets on her way to the warehouse near St. Louis Street, she thanked her good sense that she took the optional high-speed driving class offered during off time at academy. She veered around the corner and saw Ed, Al, Scar, and another person, probably Ling Yao, involved in a confrontation.

She hit the break, turned the wheel, and fired her gun, hitting Scar in the upper thigh. The car skid to a stop. Her back throbbed wildly and she had to hold back the bile threatening to rise in her throat since she was in close proximity of the homunculi Ling had tied into a ball.

She looked at him. "There's no time to waste. Get in!"

Ling heaved the giant homunculi into the back of the car.

"Haw—"

She lifted her fingers to her lips and Edward quieted. Ling jumped in the back with the monster. She hit the gas and sped down the street.

"Who are you?" Ling yelled so she could hear him over the air whipping and whistling by them.

She bit back more nausea and a tinge of amusement he would get in the car with someone he didn't know. "An ally. Breda told me everything about you Ling Yao. I'm taking us straight to the hideout."

He leaned over her shoulder. "My comrade, we have to go get her!"

"What? We don't have time."

"Please! I promised I'd return. She's going to die if I don't."

She could hear the alarm in his voice, and reminded herself that if it were Roy she'd do the same. Ling not leaving his comrade was the same as any soldier that wouldn't leave a man behind. "Okay, but we have to be quick!"

"Thank you so much."

She lurched forward as they passed an alley and sharpness slammed into her back. All at once. An odd sensation since the pain usually jolted around. "Where to?" she asked through gritted teeth.

She followed his instructions and came to a stop at a wide drain next to the dark river. Ling jumped out. "I'll be right back." He kicked out the drain and jumped inside. Riza felt the homunculi in the back seat squirming, but not enough to be able to escape his position. She was surprised Gluttony wasn't more outraged.

She grabbed her stomach and opened the door. Going over to the edge of the river, she leaned over and threw up what little breakfast she had left inside her. She removed a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her mouth.

"You okay?" she heard Ling yell.

She turned and saw him carrying a woman in his arms, one of her arms missing. Instead of answering him, she rushed over and helped him get her in the front seat. "You're going to be fine," Riza reassured the girl even if she wasn't sure. A wound like that could easily be fatal, but the Elric's had worse and this girl appeared to be stable considering the amount of blood she'd lost.

She darted over to the driver's side, turned on the motor and sped off to the address Roy gave her.

"If you are having trouble with the homunculi's aura," the girl said.

"You should save your energy," Riza replied.

"When you spend more time around them it will ease," Ling said.

Now that she thought about it, it had slackened off. Same symptoms but they weren't nearly as bad when around a single homunculi as they had been before. "How did you know I felt bad due to them?"

"They don't have chi so it makes us sick. It doesn't bother us nearly as much now. You must be well tapped into chi."

She laughed inside. That wasn't the case at all; it was the damn tattoo. Nothing could convince her otherwise but still. . . "Any suggestions to get rid of the feelings?"

"Just to ease them. Try meditation."

Riza nodded. She'd try everything possible to allay the feelings. "I appreciate the tip and will try it."

**-/-/-**

As she drove out of the city, she realized Roy didn't possess the understanding of what a suburb was. The address he gave her was more of a cabin in the forest; out of the city, drive five miles and turn up a dirt road, and then drive another mile up that road. They were far away from the prying eyes often residing within the suburbs, so she couldn't complain. She pulled up to the house—which was in very good condition to be forsaken—, got out of the car, and went over to the young woman. Ling started after the girl, but Riza grabbed her arm and hoisted it over her shoulders before he could. "Get the homunculi. We can't let him get away. I'll take care of your bodyguard."

"Thank you. Her name is Ran."

He lifted the homunculi out of the car and Riza chuckled when he practically rolled the thing to the house. They got to the door and Riza entered with Ran first, amazed the girl was still conscious and able to walk. Maybe she should look into these Xingese martial arts if she got the chance.

She was thankful night hadn't set in; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to navigate through the dusty, dingy old house to a bedroom. The bed was old, broken down, and covered in filthy sheets, but it would have to do for now. She'd call Roy and ask him to bring better ones. It couldn't be healthy or sanitary for her arm to be against those.

But call him how? It wasn't a good idea for her to leave these two alone. They needed the homunculi and while Breda said they were trustworthy, they hadn't earned her trust yet, but with Ran hurt, they weren't likely to run away. She couldn't stay there alone with the homunculi either. If he got loose, Ling clearly had a better chance of winning against him than she had.

Her mind flashed to the previous time she encountered him and she pushed it back. She'd been close to death before but never within the grasp of the thing that would kill her. Usually it was death from a distance, under gunfire or alchemic attack. She eased Ran down onto the bed. "We'll get a doctor for you."

She looked up when the young man came in. "What in the hell did you think you were doing?"

Riza immediately recognized the tone; it was similar to what Roy used on her in the hospital, and she wouldn't have it used on the girl. No matter whom this young man thought he was. "Don't you dare say what I think you're going to or I will shoot you," Riza said. "She did what she thought best to protect you. Be thankful, don't be a hypocrite, and worry more about helping her. Your berating is the last thing she needs."

She looked at Ran, who held an inquisitive look on her face, and said, "I'm protecting someone too." She walked over to the door. "I've got to go into the city and call my commanding officer. If I know him, there should be some supplies around here somewhere. You should find them. I'll be back in a few minutes."

**-/-/-**

Riza drove to the nearest phone and dialed the number to Fuery's place, and waited for Roy to pick up. She hoped someday someone would be smart enough to invent some sort of mobile phone. She shook her head and laughed at the silly notion as Roy answered.

"Yeah?"

"It's me. We have Quazi and Ling at the safe house. His bodyguard is there as well and needs a doctor. She's lost her arm and I don't know how long she can hold out." Riza decided to get the entire sentence out to cut off any questions that might prolong the conversation.

"You found the supplies?"

"I told Ling to look around for them."

"There's a wall behind the old stone fireplace in the living room. Move the grate and it slides out."

She knew he'd have stuff hidden there. Despite his sometimes reckless behavior, he had things planned very well. "Alright. I'll fine them."

He took a deep breath. "You're okay?"

"I'm fine, but you be careful. The city is crawling with MP's. Might want to make sure you aren't followed."

"Got it. I'll see you soon and come with a doctor."

"Knox?"

"Who else?"

**-/-/-**

Roy grabbed a coat to place over his uniform before he left Fuery's place. He got a taxi to drive him to his home, and changed into civilian clothing, before he retrieved his personal vehicle and headed for his destination. Then he spotted them. Ed and Al walking down the street, Ed's head bandage and his normally slight limp even more pronounced. He had Gluttony in custody and knew the brothers would want in on the action, and they would come in handy if something happened. He pulled up beside them and stopped.

"Get in."

Ed and Al got into the back seat without question, and Roy started on his way. "I passed by the hotel. It wouldn't be a good idea for you to go back there right now. There's MP's all over the place."

Ed groaned. "Yeah, we ended up letting Scar get away. They'll probably try to stick us with more bodyguards."

"Which is the last thing we need right now," Al said.

"What happened to the homunculus Ling caught?"

Roy smirked knowingly. "Hawkeye called me and said they're at an empty safe house I had arranged. Someone is injured so I have to go pick up a doctor I know before we head there. I think it's best you come as well."

"You mean you aren't going to withhold information? Be a prick?"

Roy huffed. "I don't feel like being a prick right now. I'll take a rain check." He looked around. "Check and see if we're being followed Ed."

Ed turned in the seat, having to get on his knees to see out the back window. He shook his head and turned back to the Colonel. "No, not a thing."

"I could use Hawkeye's homunculi sensing about now."

"Don't you mean Ling's?" Ed asked.  
"The Lieutenant can sense them too, brother."

The blonde's eyes widened. "Really? Damn, wish I could do it."

Roy wanted to reach back there and smack him but could understand why Ed would want it. It was handy but he knew the sensations were more of a burden to Riza than a help. It terrified him the pain might increase to the point it hindered her in fighting.

"Where'd she learn how?" Ed asked. "I want the training."

Roy tensed and as nagging feelings and anger of unanswered questions festered in his stomach. "She didn't take training for it Ed. We've tried to figure out why she can sense them, but we're at a loss." His voice softened. "You've never heard those creatures mention her?"

"No."

"If they ever do. Please, tell me what they say."

He shifted when Ed's eyes studied him with his golden, intense gaze. He expected Ed to say something other than the short, "sure," so he had to withhold his surprise when it was the only word that came. Roy adjusted himself in the seat again, cringing as his side jerked.

"You haven't recovered yet have you?" Al asked. Roy almost smiled at the concerned tone the younger Elric displayed.

"Not fully no. My stitches pulled apart a bit."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Should you be driving? After all I've been through so far, I don't want to die in an automobile accident."

"Brother!"

Roy ignored the comment. "I'm running out of pawns I can move so I have to do the moving myself."

"So you don't have a lot of allies." He shrugged. "Shouldn't surprise me considering your personality."

Roy grit his teeth for a second. "Hold your tongue Fullmetal. My hands aren't hurt and my gloves aren't wet."

**-/-/-**

By the time they made it to Knox's house, the sun had drifted behind the mountains, the entire city cast in its rapidly fading, burning glow. The streetlights were on, further illuminating the area in various oranges and reds. He stood outside the car— Ed and AL remained inside— and waited for Knox to arrive home. He knew from the hospital schedule he conveniently "borrowed" he'd be coming home in the evening now. He straightened when he saw the man thudding up the street, his body set in a slouched posture, and his brows furrowed in accompaniment with the frown he always wore.

Knox stopped in front of him. "Why are you here?"

_Direct as always._ "I need a doctor."

"There are plenty of other doctors in the city." He opened the gate and entered his yard. "Unless the bodies are already dead, I can't help you."

Roy turned toward him. "I have someone seriously injured and I can't risk any other doctor knowing my identity or what's going on. You're the only one I can trust."

Knox removed his keys and stuck them in the lock, but made no move to enter the home. "You're always dragging me into your dirty business you warped bastard."

Roy noted there was no hostility in his voice; it was more a voice of complacency. "We both know I could make you do it. I know you have a family and contrary to what you think of me, I'm not that kind of man. That's why I'm asking for your help."

He released a rough exhale. "Give me a few minutes. I'll get my bag."

"What about your family?"

He laughed a laugh so full of bitterness Roy thought he could taste it. "I don't have one. I got divorced after I got back from Ishbal. I'll be right back."

**-/-/-**

Knox walked into the old house and headed straight for the room with the bright lantern glow emitting from it. "Hawkeye, I need you in here. The rest of you clear out," he said. He immediately began removing instruments from his bag and taking in his patient's condition.

"But—" Ling started to protest, but Riza cut him off.

"I'll take care of her."

Ling looked deeply in her gaze, as if questing for something that would show he could trust her. A part of her felt insulted since she'd already done so much to earn his trust. She didn't have to go back to get Ran. In fact, she had a feeling Ran hadn't wanted him to return.

"Trust me," she said.

After a few seconds more, he nodded and left the room. Riza turned to look at Ran and gave her a reassuring smile. "Things will be okay."

**-/-/-**

Roy leaned against the wall and watched as the young man trudged over to an old crate and practically fell on it. He leaned his head back against the wall and let his arms hang limply at his sides. His skin looked slick, as if someone had rubbed something greasy all over his face.

"Stop blaming yourself," Roy said. "She wouldn't want that."

Ling jolted in an upright position, ready to attack. When he saw Roy, he relaxed. "You're the one who got the doctor for my bodyguard?"

"That's right."

He bowed his head. "You have my sincere thanks."

"I should thank you for the help with the Maria Ross incident. It wouldn't have gone as smoothly without your assistance." Roy walked over to the young man and extended his hand. "I'm Colonel Roy Mustang of the Amestris Military."

He clapped his hands together in a prayer form and bowed even though he was sitting down. "I am Ling Yao, 12th son of the Emperor of Xing."

The boy impressed him. He was more polite than a certain blond pipsqueak he knew.

When a scream shattered through their conversation, Ling tensed. "She'll be fine," Roy reassured him. "She's obviously strong if she withstood such a long time without an arm. Very admirable."

Ling nodded. "I'm proud to have a vassal such as her." A small growl from the bottom of his throat sounded and his voice tinged with self-loathing. "She's always been dedicated to—" He almost jumped again at another scream. Roy could tell by his clinched fist and tensed shoulders he struggled against rushing into the room while they were working on her.

"To the point it terrifies you," Roy finished for him.

"I assume the woman helping her is your bodyguard. When I got angry with Ran Fan, she interrupted. I almost thought she was going to shoot me."

Roy chuckled. "Doesn't surprise me. I scolded Hawkeye not long ago for something she did. There's no benefit in yelling at them, other than a release of fear or hostility. It only makes them feel bad. Besides, we can talk all we want, but we're just doing it to hear our heads rattle."

"Does it terrify you?" His voice sounded innocent. Confused.

"What?" He'd heard Ling the first time but hoped his playing dumb would make the boy think twice about his question . . . he wasn't so lucky.

"The point of almost losing her. Does it terrify you?"

When Roy stared into Ling's eyes, he knew. This young man was confused about what was going on within him. He recognized the look all too well because it was the same one he had when he first . . . Ling was in love with his bodyguard.

He could tell the boy was proud by the way he walked; by the way he stubbornly forced himself to sit there while Ran was with Knox; and by the way he subtly asked about his relationship with Riza.

Now, he let some of his pride drop and a smidgen of vulnerability show through. It let Roy know Ling trusted him. Because of a realized similarity. Actually, far more than a single shared trait.

Both were working toward a goal; he was unsure of what Ling's was. Both had stubborn bodyguards who would die for them. Both would risk their lives to keep it from happening, even if it meant the destruction of their goals. Both of them knew their bodyguards were their weaknesses, yet their source of strength to succeed.

"Yes." Roy finally answered. He'd give any advice he could to the young man. "It's been at that point for a while. I don't fight it anymore as long as it doesn't get in the way of our safety."

"The reason it terrifies you is . . . deep?"

He knew Ling avoided the word love on purpose. He nodded. "Yes."

"This doesn't make you weak?"

"It's a double edged sword."

Ling nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

**-/-/-**

Roy wanted to punch Ed for the pitiful look on his face as he addressed Ling. He knew the young prince didn't want such a look directed at him. "I'm sorry."

"I don't need to hear that." Ling leaned forward, and rested his elbows on his knees. "You think you got us into this." He opened his eyes, but didn't look at Edward. "We were fighting together. I didn't do this out of charity. I did this to benefit myself and I don't need your guilt. I left Xing knowing what I had to do to save my clan. I thought I had the convictions but turned out they weren't strong in me. Not nearly as much as they were in Ran-fan." Ling looked over at Roy. "Or as much as the convictions are in him and in his lieutenant."

Ed opened his mouth but didn't get a chance to speak. Doctor Knox walked out of the room. "I've done all I can for her without taking her to a hospital. She should be fine as long as it doesn't get infected.

Ling stood and bowed toward the doctor. "I'm forever in your debt."

Knox didn't respond and went back inside the room. Roy knew it wasn't out of rudeness but out of a lack of knowing how to react to being thanked.

Ed and Al entered but Ling stayed outside. Riza smiled at Ran and placed a hand on her shoulder before leaving.

"Do you need to rest?" Roy asked as she approached them.

"No Sir, I'm fine." Riza looked at Ling.

"You should go see her."

"I shall later. It's important she rest correct?"

She nodded. "I suppose if you go in she'll start apologizing for something she didn't do wrong."

Roy laughed inwardly at the way she phrased her sentence. It was like Riza to relate to the woman, especially when she would willingly do the same thing if the same situation arose. He wanted to say he'd make sure that never happened but he couldn't accept that as fact. Not even in his head. "Get something to eat Lieutenant and then please keep watch outside."

"Yes Sir," she said and walked down the hallway toward the living room.

"I see even better what you have to deal with," Ling said, his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "Good thing too."

"Yes, I saw our house guest." Ling stood and they walked to a door. Cast in shadows, only a very thin stream of light filtering into the room through the cracks, was Gluttony. Several ropes bound his large form and his red eyes glowed in the dark like something out of the horror pictures Roy saw at the theatre.

"What is that thing?" Dr. Knox said as he approached the doorway.

Roy nodded toward the monster. "Dr. Knox, meet Gluttony. It's a homunculus."

"A… Huh…Wha…" It was rare to get the man surprised enough to stutter and Roy marked it as an accomplishment. "Those things are myths."

"You can't see a myth," Roy stated.

"Why haven't you killed the thing?"

"It has a philosopher's stone inside it, so it takes about half a dozen good hits to kill it."

Knox shook his head and then rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay, either I'm stupid, or you all belong in a sanitarium. And a philosopher's stone? Those things Marco made?"

"Yes."

"So Marco has something to do with these things? He created this?"

"No, but high command has a hand in it. A philosopher's stone is created by the loss of countless human lives. The stone is at this monster's core." Roy folded his arms across his chest. "When Maes discovered the corruption, these things killed him."

"It goes higher than that," Ling said.

"What do you mean?" Knox asked.

"Your king is a homunculus."


	99. Comrade Similarities Pt 2

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 99: Comrade Similarities Pt 2 **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. **

**AN: MERRY CHRISTMAS LOVELIES!  
**

* * *

Roy tried to level his nerves as not to appear jolted. No matter how much he ran the fact through his mind, because he trusted Riza's feelings one hundred percent, it was hard to accept. Now hearing it confirmed by someone else increased the weight on his shoulder.

Ed and Knox's faces dropped.

"Should I call the mental hospital for you lunatics?" Doctor Knox said.

Roy shifted his stance when Ed looked at him. "You don't look fazed Colonel?"

He took a deep breath. "I'm not because Hawkeye told me the same thing."

This caused Ling to look surprised. "She's like us in sensing the homunculi, but she sensed it in your king. We didn't."

"Then how do you know he's a homunculus?" Al asked. "And why wouldn't his family and aides notice?"

"He has their mark on his eye, under the patch. With Gluttony, there's a non-human entity present. It's not the case with Bradley. The fact Miss Hawkeye can feel him shows she doesn't have the same skill as we have. Her case might not be sensing chi after all."

"You're right. There's a very good chance that it isn't the case," Roy said.

"But you can't say what that more to it is?" Ling said. "She mentioned her situation was different."

"Stop keeping secrets Colonel."

"Butt out Edward."

"No, I won't butt out! If this is going to help us then you need to spill why the Lieu—"

"Ed," Ling said. "There are some things that can't be said no matter how much they might assist."

"He's right brother. You should know that more than anyone."

Ed folded his arms across his chest stubbornly but relented. "You're right Al." He looked at Roy and muttered an apology. Roy brushed it off.

"Hey, wait a minute. Doesn't King Bradley have a son?" Al asked. "The books say homunculi don't have the capability to reproduce."

Ed straightened. "Yeah, that's right.

Knox shook his head. "His son Selim was adopted. Years ago, it was public knowledge that they couldn't have a son. It was in all the papers."

Roy walked over to the room and raised his lantern so he got a better look at Gluttony. He grinned. "I don't give a damn whether he's monster or human. All I know is that this situation is going to make it a bit easier to drag him off his presidential throne."

Ling moved to walk beside him. "So we have the same aspirations as well."

Roy looked over at him. "You want to become emperor of Xing or something?"

Ling smirked. "Am I wrong for wanting that?"

"Not at all," Roy said, a similar smirk crossing his lips. "It's quite admirable."

"Thank you."

Ed leaned closer to Al. "This is seriously creeping me out."

"What is?"

Ed motioned to them. "Is it just me or could those two pass for brothers?"

Al studied the two dark haired men and a bead of sweat appeared on his head. "Yeah, the resemblance is kind of creepy."

"Both stupid if you ask me," Knox said. "Aspirations for power are a bad idea. Just asking for trouble."

Roy gave a rough nod. "First I'll get some information out of Gluttony, and if possible, remove the philosopher's stone and help heal Havoc."

Ling leaped to the side as if Roy took a swing at him. "Wait a minute! I have to take Gluttony back to Xing immediately. This is our only lead to immortality, and Ran Fan lost her arm for it."

Ed took a step forward. "Now just hold on a second! You wouldn't have this lead if it weren't for us. No way in hell I'm just going to let you take it. We've been looking for a way to get our bodies back and I'll be damned if you're come into my country and take something that is the key to our goals."

Roy smirked. "He's right Ling. Your group is here without passports or visas. One little word to the military and I can have you thrown out and create an international incident. That wouldn't put you in good standing with your country."

"That's playing dirty," Ling said.

"Don't act like you wouldn't do it too if in my position."

Ed laughed. "Ha ha! Go get em' Colonel!"

**-/-/-**

Outside, Riza used as much restraint as she could muster to keep from going in there and strangling Roy. Then she'd spank the teenagers with her pistol. She would've spanked Roy as well, but he was perverted enough to enjoy it. When she heard Ed encourage the Colonel, she turned to go into the house. She paused at the door when she heard Doctor Knox yell and then settled back into her previous position. He'd straighten them out.

"You guys are acting like a bunch of children fighting over a toy. Mustang, I'm going home."

Riza's face faltered. Okay, maybe he wouldn't.

"You can't leave yet I need to take a vote," Roy said.

"Oh for the love of . . . ," Riza muttered and put her palm over her face. This was getting ridiculous. She moved further away from the house to keep from hearing the childishness.

**-/-/-**

"Yeah, like that's going to be democratic and fair!" Ling said.

"It's not a democracy here yet. And don't be so hypocritical. As I recall, people in your country don't vote for emperor."

"That's not the point Mustang."

They heard a loud gurgle and a guttural growl. They turned toward Gluttony. "Mustang...Lust... You killed Lust." The ropes strained around him as it seemed like he was growing bigger and bigger. They stopped arguing and stared at him.

"Well that doesn't look like it's going to be a good thing," Ed said.

Ling nodded slowly. "That's something we can agree upon."

Gluttony shot to his feet as the ropes around him ripped apart as easily as crepe paper. His mouth stretched over his body, taking over his entire stomach, and an eye lingered within its dark depths. "I think we should run now," Ling said.

A giant and smelly burst of energy shot from Gluttony's mouth, blowing up the corner of the house. When a loud creak sounded, they rushed out of the hallway before the entire side of the building collapsed. Thankfully, they were unhurt.

Roy turned to Ling, trying to push back the worry for Riza; if she'd been in the way of the energy, she was dead. "Go get your bodyguard and get her out of here. We'll distract Gluttony." _Keep the faith. She can sense this stuff. She's fine!_ Now if he could make himself believe that, he'd be doing better.  
When he heard her voice call his name, he instantly shouted, "Lieutenant, stay back."**  
**

**-/-/-**

When her stomach lurched enough that she had to grab it, she paid special attention to her surroundings. A low rumble rattled the area and she leaped out of the way to avoid a large burst of energy tearing through the edge of the house, ripping up wood, and rocks, and shrubs as it blasted toward the forest. She heard a small crack when she hit on her side but no pain came.

Pushing herself to her feet, she grabbed the gun she dropped, rushed to the several meter long gully and shouted for Roy. When she heard his reply, she didn't have time to be relieved he was safe. She jumped back again to avoid another burst- a hard task since her nausea was trying to pull her stomach up through her esophagus. The ground across from her smoked, the vapors attacking her sense of smell with a scent mixture of morning breath and burnt rubber.

She jerked toward the end of the gully and almost pulled the trigger before she noticed a tiny problem with her gun . . . the barrel was gone. She looked ahead and memories came back to her as Gluttony lumbered out of the darkness. His stomach was now a large mouth, gaping and drooling with numerously sized teeth jutting out from the sides, small at the top and bottom, and getting bigger as they went to the edges of his "lips". An eye, one of the evil, murderous ones that looked like it could suck out your soul, took up residence in the middle of his mouth. His tongue was at the top, the ouroboros tattoo burned into her memory was firmly entrenched within its taste buds.

She forced herself to stay calm as memories of the tower came flooding back to her. The way his hands gripped her neck, the way he threw her against the wall, how she felt as if her life was going to end. And it very well would've if not for her husband's foolish actions. She wouldn't make him act like that again.

She threw down her now useless rifle, jerked out one of her pistols, and pointed it toward him. She grabbed her other when the house collapsed and crossed it over her arm toward the building. When the dust settled she saw Roy, a panda, Knox, Al, and Ed.

"Dofshoot," Roy said.

Riza raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand Panda, Sir."

Roy jerked the animal off his face and threw it to the side, the creature giving a soft squeak as it landed on the ground. "I said, don't shoot. It's after me so don't provoke it."

_What in the hell does he want me to do then? Tickle it? I feel so useless._

"Mustang!" Gluttony screamed. Riza leaped backward as his teeth shot out in razor sharp projectiles. The group at the house rushed out of the way. The tips of the fangs stabbed into the ground where they were laying seconds earlier.

"He's swallowing everything he comes across. This is crazy. I can't believe alchemy created such a—"

"Hawkeye, go help Knox and Ling with Ran Fan. I'm going to kill this thing." Riza didn't want to leave him, but did as ordered. Not that she'd stay gone for long of course.

Roy jerked off his plain white glove with his teeth and moved to put on his alchemy gloves.

"Wait! Didn't we want a live homunculus?" Al asked.

"I don't see any other options. Our survival takes priority and it knows our names and faces. We can't do anything if it reveals what's going on."

"As much as I don't want to agree with him, he's right Al," Ed said.

Roy snapped. Flames hit the eye with perfect accuracy and swirled around the monster. Roy was proud until a slurping sound carried to his ears. The flames moved inward . . . inside the mouth.

Their eyes widened when the smoke dissipated and Gluttony stood there unharmed. When he burped, Roy grabbed Ed's shoulder to keep from falling over.

"That was spicy," Gluttony said, his voice like a booming clap of thunder crossed with a flamboyantly gay drag queen hitting puberty.

"He . . . swallowed it," Ed said.

Roy nodded. "Yeah . . . . Um . . . That wasn't supposed to happen."

They heard a loud rumble. Gluttony burped again but this time Roy's flames came out regurgitated into an even bigger burst. When they saw the large fireball barreling toward them, they ran.

"At least it's not coming from the other end!" Al yelled.

"You're useless Colonel!" Ed said, as he barely managed to keep up with Roy and Al due to his shorter strides.

"Well I didn't see you doing anything back there smart ass."

Al picked up his pace. "I don't mean to be offensive Colonel, but could you not follow us? It's you he's after."

"Well thank you for your concern for my well being." But Al was right. These boys didn't need to be in danger for something he did."

"When we get in the thicket, split up! That thing can't separate into three parts."

"You sure about that?" Al asked.

Roy shook his head. "No, but I'm hoping."

When they arrived at the growth, Al went right, he went straight and Ed went to the left. Just as expected, he could hear Gluttony's thump thump thump, and the crashes of trees and smashes of brush as the monster pounded and stomped through the forest.

It was difficult for him to push his way through the brush and run across the rough ground that made up the forest floor. His throat burned as his lungs sucked in the cool night's air at an alarming rate. His heart beat so wildly he wasn't sure it was able to hold up to such endurance. Every single muscle in his body ached, and he cursed giving up the morning run he took every day when he was younger. His injury didn't make things any easier either. He could feel the stitches in his side rip a little every time his foot hit the ground.

Then Gluttony leaped out from his left side, a ring of shots from two pistols rang out and he launched backward into the woods. He fell to his knees and gripped his side as Riza rushed toward him.

"I told you, you shouldn't enter the field," she said with a soft tone full of worry. Her hand raked through the hair at the back of his head as she leaned over.

"Is he alright?" Ed asked as he and Al ran over to him.

"Mustang!" Gluttony bellowed, his voice echoing in the area.

"We have to get him out of here," Riza said.

"Give me your coat," Ed said.

With Riza's help, Roy managed to get the coat off. She grabbed his arm slung it over her shoulders. He stood shakily, his knees faltering once, and they walked as fast as possible toward the car. Ed and Al ran to the left, deeper into the forest, to make a decoy.

"Damn it," Roy cursed. He hated feeling like a helpless invalid.

"You're injury split open didn't it?"

"Yeah." Why was it every time he got a chance to get ahead, something had to come up and ruin everything?

"We'll get Knox to look at it."

He gripped her shoulder and tried to smile, failing. He exhaled. "Riza, thank you for—"

"Hush. You know better than to thank me for something like that."

As soon as they reached the car, they heard Gluttony's outraged bellow.

"Apparently he fell for the dummy," Ed yelled as he ran toward them. He grabbed Roy and practically tossed him into the vehicle.

When he looked at Riza and saw her eyes were narrowed at him, he laughed nervously. "Don't do that again," she said, her voice calm, but threatening.

"Um... Okay. Sorry," Ed said. "You guys should get going then."

Roy bit back a hiss and said, "You can't expect me to just leave you kids here on the battlefield."

"You'd be useless out there!" Ed said.

"I have to agree with him, Sir, and you already know that. Stop being so stubborn."

"Pot, meet Cauldron," he said.

"I know you didn't just say that," Riza said.

"Don't start bickering like an old married couple," Knox snapped.

Ling walked over to the back seat and inclined his head to Riza. "Please take care of her."

"I will," she said.

He turned his regard to Roy. "Since what you truly seek isn't the philosopher's stone or the homunculus, you shouldn't really be battling it should you? You should be dealing with high command."

"He's right. As for us, we still need info and we will pass whatever we get, on to you. We made this mess, so it's our responsibility to clean it up." Ed grinned. "But thanks for the help you've given us so far."

Riza removed a gun from one of her holsters, reloaded it, and handed it to him. "I assume you know how to use this."

"That's a tool for killing people," Al said.

"Alchemy can kill just as easily," Riza said. "Look at it like it's a tool for protecting yourselves."

Ed took it from her. "Thank you Lieutenant. I may need it if I get in a situation where I can't use alchemy."

As the group of teens ran back into the forest toward Gluttony, Roy straightened as best he could and turned to Knox.

"Let's go."

"You're really going to leave them here?"

"They've got their job. I've got mine."

"Those kids are idiots. They're the exact types that die young." He slammed his hand on the steering wheel and pressed down on the gas. His tires dug into the ground at first but then the car shot off towards the city.

**-/-/-**

"You were right about the Fuhrer, Hawkeye," Roy said when they were halfway to the city and Ran was sleeping soundly in the back seat. "Ling said he saw their marking on the eye under the patch."

"I had little doubt," Riza said.

"So the one who gave the orders for the Ishbal annihilation campaign isn't even human," Knox said. Roy heard the hurt in his voice despite Knox doing his level best to hide it.

"Make you feel better about what we did?"

He huffed. "No, of course not. You?"

"No. It makes me feel worse."

"We've proven that humans are capable of atrocities that most associate only with monsters," Riza said.

Knox coughed. "So where are we monsters heading?"

"I don't know," Roy said.

"Then I guess we're heading to my place."

Roy and Riza looked at him questioningly and he shrugged his shoulders. "Since you got me in this far, I might as well jump in head first. If I'm going to risk getting killed, I'm going to be doing something worthwhile."

That made Roy uneasy but it made sense. He figured Hughes thought the same thing before he died. Riza probably used that method of thinking as well. He did too. "You sure?"

Knox shrugged. "Once an accomplice, always one I guess."

* * *

**AN: I hope you all have a lovely Christmas, Hanukkah or whatever other holiday you celebrate. God bless. Loves and Hugs to you! **


	100. Best Kept

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 100: Best Kept?  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction.**

**AN: Once again, having formatting troubles. Hope if fixed everything. (I always put this in AN because if I don't I get people thinking I messed up on formatting on purpose. )  
**

* * *

Riza watched as Knox fixed the IV in the young woman's arm, working quick and quietly unlike the chatty doctors and nurses back at the hospital.

"Get some sleep," Knox said. His voice was the normal gruffness but Riza thought she heard gentleness creep through for just a few words.

"Could you check the Colonel's wound? I believe his stitches have torn."

The man snorted. "Not surprising with him gallivanting in a situation like that when he's injured. He's a stubborn bastard."

"You think you have to tell me that?"

"How do you deal with him every day?" He left before she could reply.

"It's not easy," she muttered anyway.

Riza looked over at Ran who had her forearm draped over her eyes. Her breathing slowed and she wasn't showing any signs of pain. Riza moved for the door when Ran's voice stopped her.

"Can I ask you something?"

Riza faced the girl. "Yes."

"Will you help me?" She struggled to sit up and Riza moved over to assist her.

"You need something?"

"I need to get to my prince."

Riza tightened her grip on the young woman and shook her head. "You're not going to be any . . ." Riza hesitated to speak the exact words in her mind. She knew the power of saying the wrong thing. Knew what it was like to desire helping the person you swore to protect, and feel the helplessness of knowing you couldn't. At the same time, she'd appreciate being told straight out if she were in Ran's position. "You aren't going to be able to help him with one arm."

Ran looked to the right at a full-length mirror propped against the wall, the wooden stand once holding it now in splinters and slivers on the dirty carpet. Riza's heart ached as the girl's face managed to grow paler. "It's really gone."

"Yes."

Ran looked down at her lap. "I failed him then."

"I wouldn't say that either. You managed to distract the fuehrer long enough to get away so you did something." Riza eased her back down onto the bed.

Ran covered her eyes once more. "Why didn't he leave me there?"

"Because he's an idiot."

She moved her arm and her eyes widened. "Do... don't call him that."

"But that's what you thought when he came right?" Riza sat down on the chair next to the bed. "I don't know much about reverence for a prince, but I do know about protecting someone. You put his life first. Any risk he takes is unnecessary no matter what the case."

"I'm useless to him so why'd he come back?"

Riza saw tears rolling down the girl's cheeks. "Because he's an idiot," she repeated. "If he's anything like my idiot, he cares enough about the people around him to not give up on them."

"You speak from experience?"

"My idiot didn't give up on me either. He showed up on the field when I was in danger. Saved me when I was ready to give up too." She left out that she'd thought Roy was dead in one of those instances. There was no benefit in mentioning it.

Ran's breath shuttered as if holding back a sob. "I don't know what I'm going to do now."

"You find a way to keep fighting. If you don't then you really have failed him."

"I just have one arm. I can't protect him with just one arm." She looked down at her lap. "Just one… only one."

"We'll you can't protect him lying around feeling sorry for yourself. Or by giving up. Besides, there's automail. You'll have to take a break to get used to it but in the long run you'll be helping him by getting help." Riza was amazed at the similarities between them. Maybe one of the reasons she went through what she had was so she could help this girl.

"Yo...you're right." She wiped her eyes and turned her head to look at Riza. "Thank you and I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For crying in front of you like a weakling."

Riza shook her head and decided to bestow some recently acquired knowledge to the younger woman. "Crying gets out the tension so you're stronger it the long run. Don't be ashamed of it." She chuckled. "But don't do it in front of the enemy like I did."

Ran nodded and smiled. "Thank you so much."

"Thanks," Roy said as Knox clipped the end of the stitch he made at Roy's side.

Knox grumbled and then said, "This time let it heal before you go out and do such dumbass things."

"I wish I had the time to do what you ask."

He tossed his items in his bag and shut it. "Better to find a bit of time than to spend all your time useless."

"Useless? Why is it everyone always uses that word?" Roy sighed and stood. "I need to use your phone."

Knox nodded at a door on the right. "It's in there."

Roy walked out of the room to use the phone just as Riza walked inside. Before she could ask where Roy was, Knox said, "He's using the phone in there."

She spotted his shirt on the couch, walked over and picked it up. "Without a shirt. He's so one track minded."

"Why don't you see if you can talk the idiot out of facing high command while he's injured?"

Riza smirked. "You might as well ask me to talk to a brick wall. I'd have a better chance of convincing it than him."

Knox nodded. "You two be careful."

She'd always liked Knox from the first moment they'd met. He was a gruff man but she could tell deep down he was genuinely kind with a huge heart. His gruffness, like her coldness, was a mask. "Helping us might put you in danger, so I'll tell you to do the same."

**-/-/-**

She entered the room just as Roy hung up the phone. He turned and smiled at her. "Some of the officers in headquarters are working tonight. I'll start poking around there right now."

"Knox assumed you were going to challenge high command already."

"I admit I've had some less than brilliant moments, but I'm not stupid. I have to focus on the paths to get to that point. I'll look for allies and when the military and civilians find out their Fuhrer is homunculi. I'll strike then."

She walked up to him while adjusting his shirt so he could slip his arms into it without stretching his injury. "Put your shirt on first."

"You mean you don't like looking at my perfect body?"

Riza didn't answer him, but grinned after he turned and slipped his arms in the sleeves. He was so sweetly egotistical sometimes. Of course she loved looking at it, but now wasn't the time to stroke his ego. He turned around, leaned over, and kissed her. "Let's get going."

"We should drop by my place so we can change into our uniforms. We can't show up in civvies."

He moved to leave the room but she grabbed his arm. "What is it?"

Riza pursed her lips and shook her head as she reached up and began buttoning his shirt.

"Oh, I thought it was a bit drafty."

This made her insecure. If he was this absent minded right now, then it wasn't time for him to go to headquarters. He needed to recover but there was no arguing with him. "You're a Colonel, not a romance novel cover model."

"With the wind effects and a beautiful woman in my arms, I think I'd make a good one." He grabbed her, pressed her against him, and made a dramatic face. "See?"

"You need to lean me over a bit more to mimic that." She should know, she's read enough romance novels.

"I see. Well you're the expert. He leaned further. His side stretched, he hissed and his arm weakened. She hit the floor with a rough thud. Riza lay there, staring up at him, right eyebrow twitching. "I'm sorry."

She pushed herself to her feet and cringed as her muscle popped. "Don't worry about it." She wasn't even thirty yet but felt like an old woman. Thankfully, it was her injuries making her feel so old. "There's no time for goofing off."

Roy finished buttoning his shirt. "There's always time to goof off."

She knew he wasn't serious so she let herself laugh, wrapped her arms around him, and gave him a gentle hug. "Let's go you fool."

**-/-/-**

Riza pulled up at the entrance of Central Headquarters. Roy adjusted his shirt collar as he got out of the car and walked around to stand on the sidewalk. Riza moved to stand beside him and they looked up at the legion of stairs and the declamatory entryway looming above. The shadows under the gate, made jagged because of the angle of spotlights, brooded over the top of the steps, defiled the lighter colored streets, and murdered the golden light emitted by the streetlamps.

"This is either going to be my path to glory or the gateway of my hell."

"Thought you didn't believe in hell."

He smirked but didn't respond. He looked determinedly at the building and readied himself. He took a step, his legs feeling heavy before he even set out to lumber up the steps. "Wait for me here."

_ He acts as if I wouldn't._ "Yes, Sir."

He looked over his shoulder. "If anything happens to me, I want you to get out of the country. Christmas will be able to help you."

"And you know I won't," she said.

He jerked around. "I was giving an order."

"One I refuse to obey."

He leaned forward, and looked into her eyes. "Insubordinate are you? You have to follow orders."

"You can always court-martial me." She lowered her voice. "Or you can always tear up a certain certificate because even if you court-martial me, but it only rids you of half a problem."

"Haven't you forgotten your vows?" He touched her nose with one finger.

"I'll follow you even into hell?"

"Nope, a more important one."

"I'll shoot you in the back if you stray?"

He looked frustrated. "The vows of love honor and obey."

She didn't know what was wrong with her. She couldn't help but want to tease him lately. Was his sense of humor rubbing off on her? Or was it the fact she'd let go of all the tension she had when she still kept the pain of her past bottled up. Whatever it was, she'd try to welcome it when she was around Roy at least. Maybe a sense of humor was necessary in_ some_ tense situations. "We didn't use those vows."

His face faltered. "Fine fine. I'll make sure to come back so wait here."

Riza saluted. "Happy hunting, Sir."

**-/-/-**

By the time he made it to the top of the steps, his side throbbed and his breath came in rough spurts. His arms felt like lead when he pulled open the doors and entered the long, dim corridors. That was it! When he got healthier, he was going to get up early and go on a long run every morning. Maybe he'd even ask Armstrong for some weight lifting tips.

He saw a vision in his mind of a flexing Armstrong saying, "Weightlifting has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations."

_Maybe I'll just pass on the weightlifting tips and stick to what I did when I was younger. _

He took a deep breath and brought his mind back to his pending task. He took one more step and faltered. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He didn't even know where to begin. He was talking about overthrowing the president and reveal he was something as unbelievable as a homunculi. The generals were much too high up to start with, so maybe the field officers would be a good place.

_ Why didn't I think this through before I came in here?_

He mentally structured various steps in reaching the point of revealing what the fuehrer is, but one thing was at the top of ever list of steps. First, he wanted to see if the Fuehrer was really a homunculus.

"Hola Mustang!"

Something rough hit against his back and he slammed against the floor. "Now I know what bugs feel like when they get swatted," he grumbled.

"Sorry!" The man crouched down and rubbed the back of his head, his face wearing an awkward expression. "I heard you were hospitalized a few days ago. Guess I don't know my own strength." He helped Roy to his feet.

"Thank you, General Raven." Roy realized he forgot whom he was talking with. "Oh, I'm sorry, Sir."

He started to salute but Raven said, "Forget it. It's too late for such formalities."

Roy lowered his hand. General Grumman once told him General Raven, was a fair, wise man, and one of the better generals in the military. Well, in Grumman's words it was more akin to, "he's the only general who doesn't have medals shoved up his ass".

"Are you still working at this late hour, Sir?"

"There was an urgent meeting called," he said. "About my luck too since I was planning on spending a nice night with my wife." He motioned with his head. "Come walk with me to my meeting."

"I wasn't aware you were married General."

"Oh yes, I met my wife through work." He glanced at Roy before turning to look straight ahead. "I like to keep my marriage a secret though."

Roy forced his gaze straight ahead of him. "Yes, I can see how that would be best." He knew Raven couldn't be trusted no matter how "wise" or "fair" he was.

"What are you doing here so late Colonel? Don't tell me you're pulling late hours while you're recovering."

"Afraid so, Sir. Lieutenant Hawkeye and I just completed some inspection tours through the city."

"And how is Lieutenant Hawkeye?"

Roy didn't like it when a higher-up asked about his lieutenant. It either meant they were interested in her working for them, or they were trying to fish for information to start trouble. In Raven's case, Roy figured it was both. "You know her, Sir?"

"Ah," he said as if he'd made a mistake. He coughed. "Not personally but she has quite a reputation, just as large as your own, so it makes sense that she's such an excellent other half for you."

"She's a very capable subordinate."

"The fuehrer has praised her in a few meetings. She'll probably get a promotion soon. She's already up for a commendation for saving his life and all."

All of his muscles felt like they were tiny springs wounding tighter and straining against doing what they were supposed to. What was it about this man that made him so uneasy? Surely Grumman had better intuition than he did. "That was a while ago."

"Promotions take time, as you well know." He laughed. "You act as if you don't think she deserves it?"

Roy delicately processed his words through his mind before speaking, "Her actions speak for themselves. Whether I think she deserves it or not is irrelevant."

"I don't know about that." Roy didn't respond to his statement and instead waited for him to continue. "Your quick rise through the ranks doesn't go unnoticed Mustang," Raven said. "You may have influence in promotions eventually, but I would take things slowly right now. I have high hopes for you. As does General Grumman."

The man was either tried to confuse him, or had confused himself. Raven seemed against him one minute and praising him the next. And just how much did Grumman say to him?

"You know General Grumman, Sir?" Mustang asked, playing stupid.

"Indeed I do. I've known him since he was an instructor at academy. I was a senior there. I fought in enough battles with him to see he's an intelligent, shrewd man even if his style is unorthodox."

Oh yes, Raven knew Grumman quite well.

"It's a shame he wastes his talents out in that no man's land with all the hicks."

Raven coughed. "I'm sorry. You're from the east aren't you?"

"It's quite all right, Sir. I understand the preconceived notions about the area and most of them are true."

"So the reason you go on so many inspections throughout the city is because you want to get acquainted."

"That's right." In truth, he knew how to get anywhere in the city without trouble, a benefit of being raised there. His birth occurred out east so he had a backup to feigning his unfamiliarity with the surroundings.

Raven patted him on the shoulder. "You're dedication is admirable."

"In my inspections I also talk to various types of people. Sometimes the simplest ramblings can crack a case wide open. I feel it's important to listen to everything our citizens say."

"Then have you heard any interesting rumors lately?"

"A few. There was one about Scar auditioning for the Central City Ballet Company. One that said Ed Elric was trying to stretch himself by hanging from a clock tower with his brother hanging from his legs."

"Crazy."

"There were also a few about the military issuing money for an army of kittens to attack Drachma."

Raven raised his eyebrow. "You're kidding?"

He was of course, but he needed to catch Raven off guard —to find out if he was on his side or not. He wished Riza were there; she was better at reading people than he was. "There's also a ridiculous one about the fuehrer."

Raven stopped at a door and placed his hand on the knob. "Is that so? What was the rumor?"

Roy took a deep breath through his nose so it wouldn't be evident he was prepping for his sentence. "That he's a homunculus."

Raven laughed and pushed the door open. "Say, why don't you tell the council?"

"Tell us what Raven?"

Roy tensed his legs so they wouldn't give out. He stiffened his body, steeled his nerves, raised his head, and looked at each man in the room. He wordlessly named off every General, which was every single one stationed in Central, and vowed vengeance on them all.

"Go on inside Colonel. Tell everyone the interesting little rumor you heard about the fuehrer." Raven pushed him inside and Roy made his legs walk steady instead of jerking forward. He kept his posture upright and stiffened his features with neutrality despite the shock attempting to pull and twist his expression the way it deemed appropriate.

"And what would that be Colonel Mustang? I'm interested to hear it too." The fuehrer walked inside from a darkened room in the corner, his shiny black shoes, barely clicking on the waxed floor. He raised his head, his uncovered eye narrowed. "Why don't you let me take a wild guess? Would this rumor be that I'm a homunculus? I assure you Mustang, everyone in this room knows it."

Roy curled his toes as if he could keep himself from jumping as the door behind him slammed shut. This was what Hughes was talking about! When he said the military was in danger, he didn't mean the danger was something external. He meant this!

"Really Mustang," a General, Houseman he believed was the name, said. He took out a handkerchief and sniffed. He took off his glasses and cleaned them instead of wiping his nose. "We hoped you'd behave yourself."

"And what would your wife think if she knew you did something so stupid?" Raven said. Roy's eyes widened. They knew.

Every one of them. . .

* * *

**AN: I actually meant to post this on January 1st but things happened and I couldn't. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a comment if you have the time. They are much appreciated. **

**Dedicated to:**

**My Hubs, for inspiring Roy as he always does and for telling me to get my butt writing. **

**Riri for giving me a good kick in the ass and giving me her opinion on where to end the chapter. **


	101. Intertwining Pasts

**Best Kept Secret****  
Author: MoonStarDutchess  
Chapter 101: Intertwining Pasts  
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction.**

* * *

Riza closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to steady the pulse pounding through her back. It was a sharp ache but not sharp enough to tell how close the homunculus was. The nausea in her stomach was so dull she could mistake it for a hunger pain if she didn't know better. _Please let this feeling be because of the fuehrer. I couldn't handle facing another homunculus right now._

"Lieutenant, are you all right?" She looked up and saw the guard had taken several steps toward her. She focused on the sensations trailing under her skin to see if they increased when he got closer: they didn't.

"I'm fine. I just got out of the hospital." She leaned back against the car and studied the young man for a moment. When satisfied he was human, she said, "Why are you here?"

"I beg your pardon, Ma'am?"

"There's usually not a guard here at night at this section of headquarters."

He moved back to his position near the gate. "I was ordered to remain here until midnight. The fuehrer called an emergency meeting with the generals."

If she hadn't been so worried, she would've laughed at the situation. Roy had a knack for finding just the wrong times to do the most risky things. She shrugged it off. Surely, Roy wouldn't go in front of a room full of generals. He was only supposed to go around and gage people's reactions to high command would be downright stupid considering he didn't have nearly enough support for his goals yet.

No. He wouldn't be so stupid, but if there really was a meeting—and she didn't have a reason to think the soldier was lying— then he should've already been out of there. That is, unless he couldn't get out. "I see," she responded just for confirmation she heard the young soldier.

He started to say something but hesitated. "Go ahead. You wanted to ask me something didn't you?"

"You're the Hawk's Eye right?"

Riza hated the title but made sure not to reveal her disdain. "Yes."

His cheeks flushed and he looked away. "I went to academy because of you. I want to be a sniper as well, but I have to wait for the positions to be available."

Hearing she inspired the young man to join the military made her as sick as when she sensed the homunculi, so she didn't know how to respond. To discourage him would be a type of treason. "That being said Ma'am. . . Are you going to get in trouble? I personally don't think you should after you and Colonel Mustang have served the country the way you have."

She regarded him, keeping quiet for a full minute while trying to process his words. He must have noticed because he shifted uncomfortably from side to side. "For what?" she finally asked.

"Well..."

"For what?" she prompted using a harsher voice.

"There's a rumor going around about you and Colonel Mustang. Word is that you're married and have been breaking the rule for a while now."

Her legs gave way and she hit the ground. _Oh God no. _

_**-/-/-**_

Roy relaxed his hands to keep them from making fists. He only wished he could will the sweat away from developing on his skin. How did they know? No, more importantly, how long had they known? If they'd known all this time, they'd have discharge him since they hated him so much. His "marriage" was the perfect reason for them to do so. They may not have submitted it legally in the sense of registering the license, but it was a legal biding contract and against the rules.

"I'm surprised such a fine officer like Lieutenant Hawkeye would have anything to do with you. You're not exactly the most faithful husband are you?"

Roy was glad he hadn't put on his alchemy gloves. He wouldn't have been able to keep from turning him into ashes. He let a part of his brain process the comment positively. If they thought he was cheating, then it meant they didn't know the girls were contacts and drawing information away from them when they visited his mother's club. His anger sparked again when his thoughts took another route. This general was a hypocrite. He knew what those generals did when away from their wives—never with Christmas's girls of course. The general's statement was full of sanctimonious bullshit.

Bradley walked over to a large chair at the end of the table and pulled it out before his assistant got a chance. "Go into my office Colonel Mustang. I'll deal with you when we're done with our meeting."

Roy walked past the fuehrer and into the room, nearly jumping when the door shut behind him even though he was the one who shut it. He gazed around the area, too anxious to sit down and too injured not to. He looked for what seemed to be the most comfortable seat, which turned out to be a couch, and sat at the corner so he could lean against the arm.

What did he get himself into with this? When he came to headquarters at this time of night, he'd just wanted to weigh his options with the soldiers and officers, not barge right in and spiflicate everything he was working so hard to grasp.

Raven, someone Grumman trusted, turned out to be just as corrupt as the other blowhards in the room were. Because he put so much faith into Grumman's opinion without thinking, he found himself in his current state. But he wasn't nearly worried about the present as much as he was his future. Riza's future. He didn't think for a moment Havoc or Rebecca would betray them, but they weren't the only ones who knew. Edmund Carnell knew. Maybe he was bitter and told the fuehrer or a general about it.

Roy squashed the idea; it wasn't fair to accuse the man without proof. Edmund cared about Riza more than a man should for someone else's wife. He might betray him but he wouldn't put Riza in any danger to do it. Perhaps they'd been too careless with their relationship since they got to Central. Their emotions were outwardly expressed on the field a few times; the homunculi could've possibly seen them.

He got to his feet when the door opened and the fuehrer came walking in. A man followed behind him carrying a tea tray and sat it on a table beside the desk.

"I'll pour it," the fuehrer said when the aide took action to prepare the tea. The man gave a quick nod and spoke a brief, "Yes sir," before leaving the room. He shut the door behind him, bringing in more darkness than practical for work, but the fuehrer hadn't been planning to work in his office. That was clear.

He walked over to the window; the outside lights failing to illuminate the man and convert him from the Hades Roy knew him to be into anything illustrious or good. His desk formed an effective blockade between them, sitting atop the grass colored carpet like a wide above ground vault in a cemetery. He half expected the corpses of dead Ishbalians to rise up from the tiled floor shrieking and moaning for retribution. The office smelled of musk and the fresh, rain-holding air drifting in from the ajar window, but the office was hot from an unknown heat source barreling down on him. Or was that his nerves?

"Sit down," he said, pointing to a chair in front of the desk. When Roy sat, he expected the man to continue but he didn't. He just stood staring out the window, his hands clasped in front of him, and his back straight as if standing at attention. The room was dead quiet, a requiem of what would happen with his career, with his goals, and most importantly, with his wife. "Dishonorable discharge. You'd get no pension and no one around here would hire you for anything more than a waiter, and even that would be questionable."

"Yes, Sir." Roy rested his hands on his lap, folding one hand on top of the other to conceal a hidden fist that wanted to punch the monster in front of him. His mind swirled with contradictory thoughts until he came to one solid view.

He knew he was going against the rules of the military he swore to serve, even if it was corrupt. He deserved the discharge, and didn't expect nor want preferential treatment. Considering the fuehrer was a homunculus, he was probably going to get worse, but if he did anything to Riza other than a discharge, he'd take out all the generals and the fuehrer before anyone could stop him.

"But you and Lieutenant Hawkeye are invaluable to me so, against the urgings of those generals out there, I'm going to let this slide. Besides, I don't give a damn who dawdles around with who as long as they get their job done. And I have no complaints in regards to your work efforts." He turned halfway and stared down his nose at Roy. "It is your interfering I can't stand." Despite the brief, but threatening, gaze, his voice was calm.

"You get in my way even when you aren't trying, but I owe you for bringing the Elric brothers aboard. I owe your lieutenant for bringing you aboard."

Roy stiffened, his eyes widening on their own even though he was doing his level best not to appear surprised, shocked, or nervous over anything the fuehrer spoke. What did he mean by Riza bringing him on board? He was the one that joined the military first. How would she have possibly . . .?

"How long have you known about us?"

"You're marriage? Since Ishbal. I saw no harm in it so I ignored it along with many other marriages. I've known the lieutenant, or her late mother and father rather, for many many years."

Roy's lips parted and he sucked in a breath as he formed several possibilities in his mind. If the fuehrer knew as far back as her mother then could he possibly know about the secrets on her back? He grit his teeth. If the fuehrer knew her father then her father might have known of the existence of the homunculi. That would explain Riza's sensing abilities.

"I hear the gears turning in your mind Mustang."

Though he wanted to ask much more regarding Riza's parents, for her sake mainly, he figured the fuehrer wouldn't tell him anything else. It was curious that he'd said as much as he already had.

Roy looked at the desk when he heard a clink and saw the fuehrer was pouring a cup of tea. "Tea?"

"No."

"It's not poisonous. If I wanted to kill you I wouldn't resort to something so covert and deceitful."

Roy wanted to stand up, lean forward, and laugh in his face. Everything the homunculi did was exactly that. "So it would be safe for me to assume the homunculi have been yanking this country around for a long time."

"Since the country's birth." Roy leaned forward and clasped his hands together. His brows furrowed. All this time the country was being lead by monsters. It was one giant, extravagantly weaved lie. Everything soldiers did every day to better their country, everything the people of this nation — people who loved their fuehrer— knew, was evil. He'd played right into it at Ishbal. With each life he took, he was making this country grow on the back of genocide.

"You must've had a really good chuckle at watching all of us struggle."

Bradley turned back to his position of staring out the window. This time holding the curtain on the side away from the pane. "There were periods where it got boring. I must say these last few decades have been the most amusing."

That didn't surprise him. There'd never been so many skirmishes than what occurred this year. So many deaths. His face darkened. "At General Hughes funeral yo—"

"He was just a soldier; there was no need to sniffle and cry over someone who knew the uniform could also become his burial shroud. No one held a gun to his head and forced him to enlist. Every single one of you that come into our military is willing to kill, to murder. Haven't you already proven that?"

He couldn't have made things more painful than if he'd stabbed him with his saber. "Were the trembling hands just an act?"

"Hands?"

"At the funeral."

"Ah, no that wasn't an act. The little brat at the funeral made such a disgusting racket I could barely restrain the urge decapitate her with my sword."

Roy took one of his hands and gripped his seat with it to keep from lunging up and killing him. Or at least attempting it. "How can you say such a thing when you have a child as well?"

"Ah, you're talking about Selim. He's such a well-behaved boy. He'd never make such a sickening display if that'd been my funeral."

Roy's eyes formed into narrow slits. "What would your son do if he found out his father was a homunculus?"

The fuehrer laughed. "Don't try to use him against me Colonel. It's pathetic. My son will never be used as my weak point." He turned and placed his tea down on the desk. He rested both of his hands on the wood and leaned forward so his face was even with Roy's. "But I know yours all too well, Mustang."

He picked his tea back up and took a sip of the still steaming beverage. "As a result of your misconduct, the entire military should know about your marriage by now."

He didn't see anything wrong with people knowing, but he wouldn't say it aloud.

"You will be submitting the certificate soon so it can be released to the press if requested, and since I'm such a good, understanding fuehrer, I'm going to allow your marriage."

Tenseness surrounded him like a heavy coat. There was a catch; he could feel it.

"Your entire staff will be reassigned, including your wife. I suspect you will have no issues. The people will see how sympathetic I am with making that the only punishment you receive."

Bastard. So he was using this to gain loyalty among people. They were just pawns. And of all the things he could've done, short of discharge or death, the separation of his team was the worse. Bradley knew how close his team was and to separate them put a major roadblock in his plans. "May I ask to where?"

"Warrant officer Falman in the north, Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda in the west, Master Sergeant Fuery in the south, and Lieutenant Hawkeye, I suspect she won't be keen on a name change yet, will be serving as my aide."

Roy slumped forward, his face contorted with shock. Bradley was going to use her to make sure he behaved, but if he knew about the marriage, then that meant he couldn't and wouldn't prevent them living together. Roy hid his smirk. Bradley hadn't won yet.

"You're usually so silver-tongued Colonel Mustang. I can't imagine how else you managed to get Lieutenant Hawkeye. She's usually so by the book like her mother."

Roy's head shot up. There was no reason for him to mention her again. Maybe he'd try his luck at finding out more. "Her mother?"

"Yes, I knew Berthold as well," he said. "He was quite smitten with her. She didn't look anything like the Lieutenant. She was taller, much thinner, but very beautiful."

Roy heard a hint of admiration in Bradley's tone and it scared him that he knew more about Riza's parents than even she did. "How did you know them? Did you grow up with her?" He waited for Bradley to refuse to speak further, but he didn't.

"Grow up? No. I met her and Berthold later. I grew up called only presidential candidate. I was number 12. Along with the others, I was taught and trained in everything that would make a near perfect human. Then we started disappearing. I was the 12th one to be brought into a room and injected with the philosopher's stone."

He felt bad when his alchemic curiosity levitated over the desire to know more about Riza's parents. "Injected? Wouldn't the bodies combat it?"

"The stones are filled with the energy from souls. The candidates before me died agonizing deaths. When you're injected, the substance tears your innards apart. It's a struggle but I was strong enough to fight it. Once my nameless useless test subject was rotted, I was blessed with a superhuman form."

As much as he tried, it was hard to wrap his head around what had happened in the country all those years ago. Bradley was pushing 70, yet looked 40. "Which homunculi are you?"

"The soul left behind was Wrath. Whether it was one transmuted into the philosopher's stone, or my own, I'll never know."

"Or care."

He shrugged. "Why should I?"

Roy pushed himself into a standing position and ventured few steps toward Bradley. "If you used to be human, isn't there a way for you to become human again, or live as one. . . Sir?" Addressing the thing before him with an honorific left a bitter taste on his tongue.

"Why would I want to do something like that? Everything about me is superior. We aren't a product of a chance. We were created with a purpose and take pride in our beings. The woman you killed took pride in what she was until her death. As will I. Even though my end will never come unlike yours." Bradley stared at him for a few seconds and Roy kept his expression neutral in case the man was trying to read him. He growled. "I told you my story to show how much more superior I am to you. Not to elicit goddamn pity."

"I don't pity you," Roy said. It was truth. He hated this man before him. He knew some of, if not all, the information he desired, and some he hadn't desired about Riza's parents, until now.

Bradley turned on his heel and stalked over to the table where his tea sat. He took a set and motioned with his head to the chair on the opposite side. "Have some tea, Mustang."


	102. Perfect Hostage

**Best Kept Secret****  
**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess  
**

**Chapter 102: Perfect Hostage  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction.**

**Note: I feel like I've written this note a thousand times but Doc manager + screwy = formatting might be messed up. I tried to fix it so I hope it worked.  
**

* * *

When she woke up for her nap and straightened her head, her neck popped and a flash of pain darted up its right side. She moved again and after a few more pops and cracks, she chuckled. Her poor body was tiring of all the abuse, but it would probably go through much more before everything was over.

She looked over the dashboard and saw sunlight peaking over the horizon. The sky was dark enough for the street lamps to still burn, but illuminated enough she could distinguish her surroundings efficiently.

She yawned then realized she'd been sleeping. She shot into an upright position. Just how long had she napped? She looked down at her watch. It'd been several hours since she'd gotten in the car. She'd just wanted a short doze, not a full sleep.

Even though he said it was just a rumor, it was too close to the truth for her to deny it; everything was out in the open now. She'd been too stunned to speak and he'd offered to get her some help since he thought her condition of shock was something far more serious.

In a way it was. She'd been in a mini panic attack. Roy was in there, probably facing down the generals at the meeting and getting his discharge papers, all because she'd agreed to marry him and continue with their fraternization. She'd always been a stickler to the rules, why wasn't she when in the past.

Blaming it all on the stupidity of youth, on raging hormones, on idealism, was an ideal route for her brain to take. But it didn't. Not solely. She'd been in love and love was stupid all on its own and made people throw caution in the trash no matter what the age, hormones, or how falsely idealistic the future outcome might be.

She opened the car door and sat her feet on the pavement, wary about standing outright when her legs were in the same position for a few hours. When satisfied they hadn't fallen asleep, she stood and shut the door behind her. The soldier saluted her, a different one from the previous, and she waved him off. Like the other soldier, she could see the questions in his expression; unlike the other solider, he wasn't going to ask. He moved over to stand at the gate, facing her but not saying anything.

"There's a rumor going around," she said, deciding to get to the point.

The solider relaxed as if he'd been waiting for her to say something. "Permission to speak freely?"

She was growing tired of that statement: of both using it and hearing it. People should be able to say what was on their mind as long as it wasn't disrespectful. "Of course."

"I don't find it surprising you're married to the colonel. From what I've seen, you've always acted like his wife anyway."

She actually wanted to laugh at his words and wondered if others would see it similarly. Many women in the offices had crushes on Roy and he'd taken a few of them on a date. Roy had a reputation and being a philandering husband—as untrue as it was—wouldn't improve his standing; it didn't matter if she knew about them. It could be used as another mark against him; a wife who seemingly allowed her husband to cheat was unusual. "I see, so I wasn't just imagining what he told me. Do you know who started them?"

"I can't say. I just heard someone say something about it being in the papers. Um . . . my older brother is a good divorce attorney if you—"

"I don't need one sergeant."

"Yes ma'am, just checking."

Riza nodded. _And so it starts._

"Ma'am, I. . . I'd like to offer my support to the colonel."

Riza blinked. "I'm sorry? Support for what?"

"It's no secret what he wants to do ma'am. Rising up the ranks the way he has, I admire him for it and would like to work under him in any way possible."

Riza was shocked. Just like that, Roy gained a supporter. Perhaps there were more at Central headquarters than she thought. The revealing of their marriage might be twistable to work to their advantage. She'd need to find out more about this soldier before saying anything further. "What's your name?"

"Private Darren Gorder."

"I'll remember that."

Riza didn't say another word to the soldier and put up a neutral visage. She stiffened her posture and didn't bother to look across the city as the sun rose further over the area, its light warming the right side of her face where it hit.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye!"

She turned her head and relaxed when Kain Fuery rushed up to her. "They told me I could find you here. I looked everywhere."

"The colonel is inside. I assume that he's facing high command now. He's been in there since last night."

"Has he sent any word?"

"Not a thing."

Fuery removed a newspaper and envelope from the satchel he carried. "Um . . . Have you seen the paper?" He handed it to her and pointed to an article. Her knees begged for permission to fail but she kept them steady. In a small article on the right side of the page, it said, "Officers disciplined for breaking fraternization laws." Her hand shook as she lifted the paper closer to her eyes. "They didn't even hold back the names."

She couldn't believe it. The high command knew about it and had a sickening way of telling the world. She skimmed the article, nothing about their punishment expressed in the black text.

"No," Fuery said. "So, it's true? You and the colonel."

Riza sighed. There was no use in denying it now. "Yes. I'm sorry you had to find out this way." She refolded the newspaper and handed it back to him.

He smiled. "Nah, don't apologize. I figured there was more going on with you two, but I never imagined you were married. Headquarters is buzzing with the news though."

"How are people reacting? Negatively?"

"Honestly, not really. It's more as if two celebrities suddenly came out with a sudden marriage. I went to see Lieutenant Havoc and I thought he might be a bit angry or surprised. He wasn't. He just got up and took a walk."

Riza smiled. "Havoc's known for a while Fuery. He and Rebecca found out by accident. I don't suppose our punishments are spreading amongst the soldiers are they?"

Fuery showed her the manila envelope. "I think this might be part of it. Personal affairs visited me last night. I'm being transferred to the south and I'm not the only one being moved. Falman is being transferred up north, and Breda is being relocated in the west. Have they contacted you?"

She shook her head. "No, not yet."

As if on cue, she spotted two men walking toward them as the soldier on guard left his post. She'd seen one of them with the fuehrer a handful of times, but couldn't place a name to him. His face looked like it'd been chiseled out of stone and his jaw would crack if he moved his mouth to speak. His eyes showed no ability to joke, like many said about her own, and his body language screamed his dislike over what he was going to do. The man next to him was a familiar face, looked like one of those blind mole characters she'd glanced at when she saw Elecia coloring in her book, but she didn't know his name either.

She and Fuery saluted.

"Are you Lieutenant Riza Mustang?" the dark haired man with the "statue" guy said.

"I'm Lieutenant Hawkeye," she said, she hadn't formally changed her name and knew the guy was saying that to goad her. Unless they took the liberty of changing it for her.

The black haired man adjusted his glasses and let out a low huff, as if he was superior to her. "I'm Yakovkev from personal affairs."

"And I'm Storch, the president's personal secretary." She tensed when he took an envelope from Yakovkev. "We're here to deliver this to you."

"Those are transfer orders?"

"Yes, that's right," he said, bitterly.

Her arms felt like they were made of brick as she raised them and accepted the envelope. "Please allow me to look at the orders." She felt the top of the envelope nick her fingers, drawing blood and stinging as she opened it. She pulled out the orders, her eyes scanned them and then widened. "This . . . this can't be right. What kind of orders are these. I'm just a Lieutenant." No wonder Storch didn't like what was going on. . .

"What... what's wrong?" Fuery said, his face conveying panic.

"As you know, someone in your position can't refuse those orders," Storch said and folded his arms across his chest.

She glanced at him and nodded. Yakovkev walked away and Storch looked at Riza. "Though I wish you could refuse." He turned on his heel and stalked out of sight. Riza looked back down at the paper. She expected them to separate her from Roy, not do something like this. Leaving them together was an outright taunt. A way to show they feared nothing.

"Where are they sending you, Lieutenant?"

"Lieutenant Riza Mustang," she read on the transfer orders, her "New" last name standing out like a red ink stain on the white paper, "is to report tomorrow to Central City Headquarters."

Fuery slouched in relief. "That's great news though!"

"No, it isn't."

"Huh?"

"Lieutenant Riza Mustang is to report tomorrow to Central City Headquarters as private secretary to Fuehrer King Bradley."

"So you're going to be a—"

"Hostage," she said and shoved the transfer orders back into the envelope as far to the bottom as she could push. "Damn them."

**-/-/-**

Roy scooted so his legs were under the small round dining table in the fuehrer's office. He never expected a homunculi to have such a simple, domestic looking style and reasoned he could blame it on what little, if any, human side that remained. Bradley sat down but didn't move his chair closer to the table. He crossed his legs. "You look like you're itching with questions."

It disturbed him to think that Bradley could read him so well. He figured Bradley wouldn't' answer anything of military importance and obviously nothing about the places he and his constituents had for the country, so he ventured to ask about another topic. "The lieutenant's parents."

"Ah, I figured. We'll have guests soon so don't be so vague. What do you want to know about them?"

"You'll answer?"

"Ask Mustang, I don't like dalliers," Bradley said as he sat his teacup on the table and poured himself another cup. If he were going to answer, then he would find out all he could before these "guests" arrived. "How did you know them?"

"As future Fuehrer it was important for me to socialize so I lived in various parts of the country, soaking up familiarity with the cultures and so on. I met him that way. Riza's mother was simple enough, met her through him and from Lieutenant General Grumman. Ah, that reminds me, he knows nothing about your marriage does he?"

Roy exhaled, opening his mouth just a fraction as he did so. "No."

"I must call and congratulate him on his son in law," Bradley said. Roy could hear that the man was having fun potentially ruining everything he worked so hard to build up. Grumman would be extremely upset they didn't tell him but he didn't think it would stop the old man's support. But since the issue with Raven happened, he wasn't sure he could trust Grumman anymore. He could be in on everything too. "And your parents don't know I suppose."

He hid a grin. So Bradley didn't know his parents were killed. If they hadn't been then he wouldn't have carried his idealistic notions in his head to begin with: to make the country better so children wouldn't lose their parents the way he lost his. But then again, if they hadn't died, he wouldn't have become an alchemist and then would've never met Riza. He immediately brought back the present, refusing to let his mind think on possibilities that didn't matter in the great scheme of things. "They're dead," he finally said.

"I'm sorry."

It was difficult to keep his expression neutral after hearing that. Bradley had never, and would never be, sorry for anything he did. The oddity was that his words didn't hold a single hint of sarcasm. "It was a long time ago."

"Parents are overrated anyway. You don't need them."

Roy wasn't sure how to respond so he moved the conversation back to him. "Why are you so willing to answer my questions about Hawkeye?"

"It passes time." He took a drink of tea and grinned. "I don't understand your charming reputation. You aren't very interesting if I'm not engaging you. The Hawkeyes' were an interesting time in my life so it's amusing recollecting and getting your reaction to the things I'm saying. No harm in it either." His teacup clanked on the saucer he held as he sat it down. "I'm allowed to have fun too."

Roy couldn't believe Bradley had such a simple reason for being so forthcoming with him. He forced his eyes not to widen and let on to the processes developing in his brain. Riza, being able to sense them, her tattoo, the fact Bradley knew Berthold. All of it tangled together and meshed into a net of sense. "Did Berthold Hawkeye know what you were?"

Roy saw his mouth flicker upward for a brief second before returning to straightness. "Yes."

Berthold did put something in the tattoo. Something that not even Roy, who cracked the code of flame alchemy, could decipher. The fact he'd probably never figure it out would haunt him for the rest of his life, but not nearly as much as if he didn't take full advantage of the situation. "Why do you know so much about them when you just lived in the area?"

Bradley shrugged—a rare gesture for the man—and frowned. "He had potential but squandered it away by dying an early death because of his bitch. Then we had hoped that his daug—ah, our other guests have arrived."

Roy straightened and leaned forward. "Potential for what? Hoped that his daughter would what?"

"I said I was only answering to pass time. Now that our guests have come, I have no interest in reminiscing."

Bastard! He knew the other guests were close and started a topic of importance and interest on purpose. He felt his stomach harden and his elbows tensed causing his arms to stiffen. He grit his teeth and silently cursed the homunculus into oblivion. Bradley knew so much, it was all within his grasp, and he could do nothing to clutch it without risking everything they'd worked for through the years.

The door opened. When Ed and Al walked inside, Roy wanted to stand and throw the entire table at the two. He'd been annoyed with Edward before but never had the urge to maim both Elrics' been so dominate in his mind. He needed to keep Bradley talking to somehow piece together how much the homunculi knew about him, Riza, and flame alchemy in general.

Roy forced his body to relax and greeted Ed as civilly as possible. "Hello Fullmetal."


	103. Perfect Hostage Pt 2

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 103: Perfect Hostage Pt 2  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. **

* * *

It was the first time he saw Edward caught unawares; the "person" that led him there apparently didn't tell him he wouldn't be the only guest. As the two brothers approached the table, he could see the confusion and wariness in Ed's posture. As usual, Al was unreadable.

"More than I'd like to acknowledge. My team has been reassigned."

"What! To where?"

"Sergeant Fuery's is being stationed in the south. Warrant officer Falman in the north and Second Lieutenant Breda was sent west. Havoc is retiring out east."

"What about Lieutenant Hawkeye?" Al asked. Roy could hear the worry in his voice.

Roy folded his arms and crossed his legs. "Lieutenant Hawkeye is the president's personal aide now."

"She's Lieutenant Mustang now, don't forget that," Bradley said.

Ed looked at Roy questioningly but he didn't inquire about the name changes."It turns out the conspiracy involves more than just a portion of Central Command. Every single higher up is guilty."

"Sit down you two," Bradley said. "And don't think for a moment the three of you can take me. I didn't become a leader by being soft."

_No, you just got the damn title handed to you on a silver platter._ Roy's fingers ached to snap; thankfully, he wasn't wearing his transmutation gloves and his arms hid his hands.

When a sneeze sounded in the room and echoed, they all looked at the only place that could produce a reverberation. Al coughed as if he could hide the fact something was indeed hiding within his armor. He looked at the fuehrer and saw the man didn't look fazed in the slightest.

"Sir, when you visited me in the hospital, I had no idea you were working for the other side. You had me completely fooled," Ed said.

"Don't be confused. I was sincerely concerned for you. I said I wouldn't allow you to speak of the situation to anyone or stick your neck out with those matters." The right side of his mouth moved upward, temporarily reorienting his perfectly trimmed moustache. "I told you to assume the entire military was the enemy, did I not?"

"Yes but—"

"And I said I would call on you when the proper time came." Bradley sat down his teacup and poured more into the porcelain vessel. "The three of you are valuable resources so there is no need for you to know more. Just stay quiet until the time comes and no harm shall come to you."

"How can you expect us to do that? When the time comes, what will happen to those that aren't human sacrifices?"

"As I've stated Fullmetal, it doesn't concern you."

He jerked up from his seat. "The hell it doesn't. He jerked his pocket watch, the chain yanking off his belt loop. "When you gave this to me I felt honored, like I was important and was going to do something good. It's nothing but trouble. It represents everything I'm against." He slammed it down on the table. "I give it up!"

Roy wanted to roll his eyes at Ed's rash actions. Didn't the boy ever think before acting? "That's not wise Fullmetal." He knew what Bradley would stoop to doing.

"Not wise? Look at you! He turned you into a murderer."

Roy felt like he'd been sucker-punched. What made it worse was the words were spoken in the heat of the moment and, while words were crueler, they were also truer.

"Brother! How could you say that?" Al asked.

Ed turned back to look at Bradley. "I signed up because it was the only way I could get the resources I needed to get our bodies back. Alchemy is supposed to benefit society, not destroy it."

"Mustang, he's insulting you to high heaven today."

"I'm used to it."

"His goals sound quite familiar as well don't you think?"

Mustang let a small laugh leave him. "I warned you Edward. We can be called upon at any time. I said we were dogs who had to obey their masters."

** "**You said for war. Not for this."

"I've been through war Edward. So far this isn't shit compared to having to kill living things, so don't try the compare contrast attitude with me."

"But we're going to! You aren't stupid enough not to see that. The state alchemy exams have only been for selecting the best and brightest human sacrifices. We're like fucking cattle. Hawkeye is in danger because of it, or do you not give a shit?"

Mustang narrowed his eyes. This boy was crossing the line in so many manners and if he didn't shut up, he wouldn't live until the time he's needed. "Don't you presume for a moment to know what I do and don't care about. You don't know us as well as you think Fullmetal. If you cross the line again, I will make sure you regret it."

Ed huffed and slid his watch to the fuehrer. "This title can go to hell along with the rest of you. I'll tell all the other state alchemists about it and you—"

"Fullmetal," Roy said, "take back the watch." Even though he was still angry, it pained him to watch the young man going through all of this. Someone his age should be more worried about girls and his hormones. He felt the weight of responsibility for what was happening to him now even though he did give fair warning.

"You should listen to Mustang, Fullmetal. I have his most precious person in my care." Bradley rested his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his closed hand. "I do believe you have someone special also. I think was her name was Winry. She's in Rush Valley right now, right?"

"Don't you dare lay a hand on her."

"Or what?"

Ed didn't answer. Roy almost wanted to hug the younger man as the realization he was stuck in this trap came over him.

Bradley placed a finger on Ed's watch and slid it back across the table to him. "You will continue to serve in the military of your own volition, or I will find everyone you love, cut them into tiny pieces, and mail them to your military address. Do you understand me?"

Ed grabbed the watch and shoved it back into his pocket. "Fine."

"Why can't you be mature like Mustang there? Calm and poised." Bradley laughed. "Perhaps you should give them some lessons, or did your wife train you?"

Roy saw Ed twitch. "My wife would be more effective. You know how they are," Roy said, honestly. He wanted to test just how human Bradley was. Did his wife have any influence over him at all?

"That is the truth Mustang." He took a drink of his tea.

"Um, sir?" Alphonse said.

"Yes?" Bradley almost sounded kind toward the younger Elric. Roy figured not even Satan himself could hate the young man.

Al shifted on his feet for a moment before asking, "Will you allow my brother and me to continue to search for a way to find our bodies?"

Bradley shrugged one shoulder. "I don't mind as long as you don't do anything to get in my way." He looked over at Roy. "And what will you do Colonel Mustang? What is it you want?"

Roy wanted to tell Bradley to take his sacrifice, his pocket watch, and everything that went with it, and shove it. He wanted to take Riza and the others he cared about, leave the country like a coward, and never look back. He wanted to forget Ishbal happened; forget he played into the hands of the bastard sitting across from him. He wanted everything he couldn't have if he wanted to change the country. He knew the risks and after everything he'd been through, couldn't just give up now. "I still have my ambitions so I can't rid myself of this watch or remove this uniform."

"I must admit that's a surprising way of looking at it. Now, as you can imagine, I'm busy with matters so you're all dismissed."

They stood and went toward the door. Roy stopped. "May I ask you one more question, sir?"

"Go ahead."

Without any hesitation, he asked, "Did you kill Maes Hughes?" Ed and Al gasped. He wanted to turn around when he heard Bradley chuckle, but didn't.

"No. It wasn't me."

"Do you know who did?"

"I said I'd answer one question, Colonel. If you wanted another one, you should've asked for two."

_Damn it._ He stood across from one of the only beings that knew who killed Maes and could get nothing out of him. "Thank you, sir. We'll be going now."

Roy walked out the door but paused and turned around when the fuehrer told Al to stop. He almost attacked Bradley when he rushed forward and stabbed Al through his armor. He'd temporarily forgotten there wasn't a flesh human inside the—Wait a minute. The sneeze. He waited to see if any blood leaked out. When the fuehrer was sure there wasn't a stowaway within the metal, he gave them permission to leave.

When the door shut, Ed and Al tumbled to the floor. "For the love of food, that was close."

He looked down at the two brothers. "You mean there's actually someone inside Al?"

Al was the first to recover and stood. "Yes, an injured little girl. Colonel, will you give me Knox's address?"

Roy removed a notebook and pen from his inner jacket. "Yes, but you need to keep this a secret Alphonse. I don't want to get him too deeply involved in this."

"I will. I promise."

"And give me all the money you have on you," Ed said and held out his hand.

Roy tore off the paper and handed it to Al. "Why in the hell would I do that?"

"Oh come on, don't be a cheapskate. You're loaded with your military salary and your alchemist funds, and you know I'll pay you back," Ed said.

"Are you some kind of bum? I pay you well enough and just because I'm loaded, as you say, doesn't mean I go throwing money around." Roy dug in his pocket and removed some money. "Here."

"This is all you have?"

"Don't bitch at me when you don't have any at all on you."

Ed grabbed it and huffed. "Thanks."

"We'll fill you in later, Colonel," Al said and they dashed down the hallway, leaving Roy in the hall with numerous people staring at him.

_What in the hell are those two—Oh crap. I completely forgot. Riza is still waiting on me._

He twisted around and sprinted down the hallway, people moving dodging as quickly as he was moving. His side strained as he yanked the door open and raced down the stairs toward the gate. He turned the corner and slid to a stop when he got to where his wife was supposed to be. Keyword: supposed to. Instead, Armstrong stood before him, a behemoth of bright yellow hair, immaculate moustache, creepy eyes, and flamboyant pink sparkles.

He grabbed his side, turned and groaned while at the same time trying to catch his breath from the tiny marathon he just ran.

"You don't look well, Colonel. Is there something wrong?"

Roy trudged over to the wall and leaned against it. "Do you think any man would look well if he saw you instead of his beautiful young wife," he muttered.

He looked to his left and right, then sighed. She wouldn't have waited the entire night on him. Maybe the president had already called for her. He turned toward Armstrong. _I just hope she's okay. _  
"Sir! Are you all right? You were gone so long I was afraid you weren't going to come out."

He straightened and watched as she saluted Armstrong. "Thank you Major Armstrong for watching my post."

"So you've been here the entire night?"

"Of course."

He shook his head. "I didn't think you would go so far." It was only after he said it that he realized how stupid the statement was.

"Wasn't it you who told me not to give up no matter what?"

He should've known she wouldn't leave. She was too dedicated and stubborn. "Just don't tell me later that you wish you had, and that's not only in regards to waiting here."

"It's much too late for me to have regrets."

"Major Armstrong. I have something important I want to talk to you about, let's get into the car."

When they got into the car and shut the doors, Riza asked, "Where to?"

"Drive to the empty alley on Basil Street," Roy said.

Riza started the motor and carefully maneuvered onto the road. "Do you need to go back to the hospital Colonel," Major Armstrong asked. "You don't look too well."

He saw Riza glance at him. "He's right, sir. Did you tear your injury open again?"

"I'm fine."

The rest of the ride remained silent, with Riza keeping an occasional eye on him. As soon as she pulled into the shadows of an abandoned garage on Basil Street and turned off the motor, Roy spoke. "Armstrong, I know your family has served in the military for a long time so what I have to say might hit you even harder than the rest of us."

"Please, be honest Colonel Mustang," he said.

"I wouldn't tell you this if I hadn't heard him admit it and seen the corruption with my own eyes."

"I don't have any reasons to think you'd lie to me."

Roy took a deep breath. "The fuehrer is a homunculus."

"I don't believe it."

Riza put her hand over her face and Roy turned around to look at him. "I thought you said I have no reason to lie to you! Besides, how in the hell would I be creative enough to think of a lie like that?"

"I…A…" He shook his head. "I think it was just a reaction of the mind. Came out before I knew what I was saying. I believe you but . . . It's just the fuehrer?"

"No. The entire upper brass is corrupt. Everything this country has done, all the wars, death, and disease, is leading to the apogee of their ultimate plan."

"Even Ishbal."

"Yes."

"And what is their ultimate plan?" Riza asked.

Roy turned back around. He slouched in his seat to try to relax his muscles. "I have no idea. Bradley wasn't forthcoming on the matter. All I know is that Ed, Al, and I are some kind of sacrifices and he's using hostages for all of us."

"He's using Winry against Ed and Al?" Riza asked.

"He's using everyone against them. Threatened to cut them into pieces and mail them to Edward."

She cringed.

"All I ever wanted to do was protect the people in this country and I know so many others enlisted for the same reasons. That was the goal of my family. And you're saying all of us are just pawns," Armstrong said.

"That's exactly what we are to them." Roy looked at Riza. She looked calm, but he knew under the facade she was raging and blaming Bradley for everything that happened, even if they did pull the triggers and snap of their own will. He was the one who started all of this. He was even likely the reason her tattoo was there in the first place.

"Why don't you leave the military, Armstrong? With your personality you'll only suffer with the things about to happen."

"There's no way I'll do that. I ran from fighting in Ishbal. I knew the military was corrupt just by ordering us to do the things we did there. Instead of staying with my countrymen, trying to protect them and right the wrongs occurring, I ran away. I will not run now like a dog with my tail between my legs or sacrifice my honor and values again." His voice increased in volume from the first word to the last. If he made fuehrer, he'd put Armstrong in charge of public relations. He was a hell of a speaker.

"I figured you'd say that, but I had to know for sure how dedicated you were."

"So what will you do now?" Armstrong asked. "You'll be assigned new people who will report your every move."

"I'll play the perfect pawn. I told the fuehrer I wouldn't quit. The fact he was so nonchalant about revealing himself to me means there's a more powerful monster behind him. I've been called so many things but right now I've never felt so human. I can't give up."

He looked over at Riza and, despite Armstrong being there, placed his hand on top of hers. "You're going to be in danger. I'm sorry."

"I've always been in danger so it's nothing new. Right now, we need to gather the supporters that are still loyal to you. The recent revelation of our status isn't going to help matters. People might feel betrayed."

"Actually no, they don't." They looked at Armstrong. "It hasn't been all that negative even from the secretary pool. Many people weren't even fazed by it."

Roy saw Riza's lips form into a smirk and she looked at him. "Maybe it would be better if they are."

He loved it when she had that expression; it was mischievous but always brought forth extremely beneficial plans. When she got ideas, they never failed to succeed in their objective. "What's your idea?"

She looked at Armstrong. "Think you can make use of your covert means of communicating? I mean wasn't it Bradley's intention to make Roy's supports hate us. I'd hate to disappoint our dear fuehrer."

Roy shook his heads and pride surged through him. "Oh, that's good."

Armstrong gave a grin right back at her. "Easily done. You'll be disliked by morning."

* * *

**AN: Another chapter will be coming on Wednesday. Hope you enjoy this one and please drop a comment if you have the time.**


	104. Real Killers

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 104: Real Killers **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. **

* * *

"Hey! You're pulling too hard," Roy said. His hands squeezed her waist harder as she pushed and pulled the shampoo through his hair. There were benefits to their relationship being discovered, of that there was no doubt, but it remained to be seen whether it was more advantageous than the secrecy.

In a way, it was like they'd failed in a goal even though the outcome could've been much worse than it was. She could've been stationed further away and Roy killed. It was good that Bradley needed him alive; yet, it made her stomach uneasy not knowing exactly why.

"Riza! Damn it stop pulling," Roy said and moved away from her.

She suppressed her worry and pressed down a grin that almost came to her lips. "I have to get this milkshake out of your hair, and you can't stay in the shower long because of your injury."

"You're just laughing so hard inside aren't you? Tossing a milkshake at me because she found out I was married was so childish."

This time she laughed. One of the non-informant women he took out had found out via the evening paper that he was married and had been less than thrilled at the fact. She could imagine what the women back east would say. It would be rather satisfying to show she was the one who snagged Roy. Plain Lieutenant Hawkeye, as one of the women called her, got and kept playboy Mustang. But then there was the fact they could pity her rather than envy. He was "cheating" after all. "I'm surprised that she found out though," Riza said.

"Why? It was in the paper. You know that."

"Yes but I'm surprised the women you take out know how to read."

This time Roy let out a laugh, leaned down, and gave her a quick kiss. "How catty."

"I'm allowed to be catty once in a while."

She grew uncomfortable when Roy stared straight into her eyes. After a few seconds, she looked away. "Let's get the rest of the shampoo out of your hair." She reached up to his head and he grabbed her wrists and lowered them. "You're trying to push back something. What is it?"

Riza knew he wouldn't drop it until she answered him. Besides the contemplations about their public status, she'd thought about what he'd said after Armstrong left the car; the slight hint about her father and mother. She'd rarely thought of them, instead choosing to focus on what she had to do in the present to better the future and redeem herself as much as possible. "I was thinking about everything that happened."

Roy wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. "You'd better not be blaming yourself. The homunculi knew all along and just let it go on because they didn't want to waste their time with it."

"I wasn't blaming myself necessarily. We both knew what we were getting into. It's just I have all these different ways of looking at things in my mind that I can't decide if things are more positive or negative." She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed his chest.

"Though,-" she ran her lips from the right side of his chest to the left, then traced the same pathway with kisses, her tongue drifting across the skin ever so often, "-I think having you here all night and not having to wake up before dawn to leave is a positive."

"Not exactly what I was-" he released a hiss when she rose up and bit the skin between his neck and shoulder. His right hand moved down her side to rest on her hip. "Riza Mustang, you're trying to seduce me in the shower."

Riza could tell he was pleased just from his tone. And he was right. That was exactly what she was trying to do. She wanted him as close to her as possible, not only because she loved him, but because he was the one constant in her life. Even with them separated, he would still be around her there in the apartment. She didn't know the real reason why they allowed them to be together this way, and figured they had their reasons, but for now she'd just enjoy it. Bradley probably thought the secret out in the open would put strain on them, but they'd gone through hell already so something like this wouldn't falter them. They'd push through and send that bastard to hell instead.

"She moved her attention away from his neck, and leaned up to lick around his lips before pressing a hard kiss upon them. As soon as he started to kiss back, she pulled away, drawing a moan from him, and gently backed him against the shower wall. All the while, she'd been mindful of his bandaged injury, enough reason for him not to be showering, but he'd been insistent.

Her lips gently trailed down his body, from his neck, to his shoulder, then back to his chest and downward with nips, bites, kisses, licks. All random and enough to increase Roy's breathing and heartbeat. When she got to the bandages around his waist, she kissed just along the tops, pitying the fact she couldn't adorn any of his mouthwatering abs. When she finally made it close to what Roy'd been waiting for, the doorbell rang. Something dripped on her nose as she stood.

"Damn it," Roy said. "Let them come back later."

She reached up to her nose and wiped off what looked to be shampoo. She looked up and realized that Roy still had it in his hair. She took his arms and guided him under the water. "Wash your hair and I'll be back in a bit. Then I promise I'll continue where I left off."

"You're going to pay for leaving me like this." Roy pointed to his crotch and she laughed.

"I'll pay with interest," she said and left the shower stall.

Roy groaned. _With interest._ She said he had a silver tongue but he had nothing on her when she got in one of her moods.

-/-/-

Riza dried off and dressed in the first thing she grabbed from the drawers as the doorbell continued to ring, Hayate's barking going right along with each chime. She went to the door and looked through the peephole.

_I hope Roy doesn't come out or I really may not be able to keep him from killing the boy. She opened the door. Please don't let Roy come out. Please don't let Roy come out._

Then Hayate leaped past her and hit Edward's face, sending him crashing onto the floor. He barked and wagged his tail as Riza took a step into the doorway and looked down. "Hayate, get off of Edward. You know better than to attack people like that." The dog got off the young man and scampered to her side, his tail wagging as if he'd done nothing wrong. "I'm sorry about that Edward."

He sat up, shook his head, and fixed the collar on his coat before getting to his feet. "Don't worry, that happens a lot with me for some reason."

She stepped to the side. "Please come in," she said. He walked inside and she shut the door. "Come into the kitchen. Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, thank you." Ed looked around. "Are you moving?"

"No, it's just I haven't had time to unpack. But with everything that's happened, I may move in with Ro...Mustang."

Edward huffed. "So you really are married to him. Here I thought it was just some practical joke."

She didn't know how to react to that. She knew the young man liked Roy but would never admit it, but from the tone, he didn't like that they were married. "No, it's not a joke. We've been married since Ishbal."

"Oh, and. . . It's okay if you call him by his name in front of me. I know about you two after all. I heard about you being reassigned as the president's aide as well. I could tell Mustang was doing his best to resist the desire to set the fuehrer on fire."

She smirked briefly before facing Edward. She sat the cup of tea in front of him. "He told me that they threatened Winry as well. They've got you all under their thumb for now." She sat down across from him. "But that and my marriage can't be the reasons you came to see me, right?"

He nodded. "I came to return this." He removed her gun from his belt.

She took the weapon. "Dried blood." She forced back all the times in Ishbal when she saw the blood caked guns of people who had to use their bayonets. She was thankful she'd never had to ram or stab anyone. That she didn't feel blood soaking her hands.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I wanted to get it back to you before it caused too much damage. I would've cleaned it myself but I didn't know how and didn't want to ruin it with alchemy."

She stood and walked over to a table to get her cleaning kit and then sat back down. "I need to clean it so it's going to smell strong in here." She stayed quiet, keeping her eyes focused on her work, more because Edward was watching her rather than then need to see what she was doing. She could clean her gun blindfolded.

"I fired a few shots with it. It takes some talent to handle one well."

Riza shrugged. "It's not a talent most would choose to have but I admit I take pride in when I can get a good shot in the target. Only at inanimate targets though."

Edward nodded. "I . . . I didn't shoot anyone."

She could tell from his tone that he was precariously balancing on what words to say or not to say. "I'm glad you came back without having to shoot anyone Edward."

"That wasn't it. It wasn't that I didn't have to." She looked up at him and saw his body trembling— an almost invisible gesture to one that didn't know how to read body language. "I couldn't pull the trigger even though my friends were in danger. I could carry the gun, actually liked the weight it gave me. I could lift it with no issues, but when I moved to pull the trigger I felt like my finger was made of lead. The gun and my hand felt so heavy and my finger felt unbendable." He sighed. "I'm pathetic."

Riza dried off a piece of the firearm. Pathetic for not shooting? Sometimes she forgot Edward was so young. In the situations he got into, it took more strength not to fire than to shoot. With the pull of that trigger, a life was taken and one wasn't always protected. She couldn't express how happy she was that he didn't have someone's blood on his hands via gun. Her gun. "Tell me what happened."

"We ran into Scar and found out he was the one that killed Winry's parents."

Riza dropped the piece she was holding and her eyes widened. She looked past Ed to see Roy standing there looking as stunned as she felt. Ed turned and saw him. "Oh, I didn't know you were here." Edward didn't show any hostility in toward the older man. Instead, he looked confused. "Why… Why do you look so shocked?"

"You just said Scar killed Winry's parents," Roy repeated, also showing no signs of agitation with Edward.

"Yeah, why?"

Roy shook his head. "It's nothing. I'll leave you two alone." He left the doorway and shut the door.

Ed turned back to Riza when the lock clicked. "You both look like you've seen a ghost."

"Were their deaths confirmed by anyone else?"

"Yeah, some Ishbalians confirmed it."

"And they saw it with their own eyes."

"That's right? Why? What's wrong?"

"Sorry for the interruption," she said and picked up the piece of the gun she'd dropped. She didn't want to get into a discussion about the Rockbells with Edward. Not after such a shocker. "Please continue."

She saw the hesitancy in his eyes but he continued his story. "Winry grabbed the gun and pointed it at him and the next thing I knew, I was between her and Scar, begging her to put down the gun." His hand shook as he lifted his cup to his mouth to take a drink of tea. "I'd never seen her cry so much. She'd been holding all of her pain inside. I promised right there that we'd come back alive so she wouldn't lose anyone else. Now, I feel horrible because of it."

"Because you don't know if you can keep the promise, right?" Riza knew the feeling well. Roy made her promise not to die and he vowed the same to her. In reality, both knew the odds were against them. "Edward, Winry is smart enough to know that you're deaths are a possibility, but that promise gives you a bit of extra strength to make survival even more of a priority. If that's even possible."

"I worry everyone and can't seem to take care of myself. I'd be dead if it weren't for Ling."

"You only get to worry about that because you have come back alive. Keep living for the ones who love you and the ones you love. . . And protect her."

"What?"

"You love Winry, don't try to deny it."

Edward choked on his tea. It squirted from his mouth, and all over Hayate who was sitting at his side. "What? No! I mean I do but not in the way you love Mustang. We've neve… She's just my mechanic and a childhood friend of course. Childhood friends together like that, love like you have for … no. Childhood friends we are. Anything else is way too awkward."

"The colonel and I knew each other since we were mid-teens." She wanted to laugh when Ed's mouth dropped open.

"Teens? That long?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not that old Edward."

He held up his hands, evidently remembering the time he'd inquired about her age. She'd usually talk about anything, but her age and measurements were off limits.

He coughed uncomfortably. "So why the colonel?"

"Because I love him." Her answer was simple enough but she doubted it would satisfy Edward.

"He doesn't really seem your type."

She laughed as she put the last piece of her gun in its proper place. "My type?"

"Slacker, conceited, self-serving, conniving."

"Perhaps he is my type. I've never told you what I prefer in men after all. Besides, he's a challenge."

"And the women he dates."

She sighed. "The less you know the better. But I will tell you he's not exactly as he appears, but I think you know that already."

"I suppose. It's still surprising. I always thought you'd go for someone more like Havoc."

"I don't like smokers," Riza said, and finished putting the last piece on her gun. "Moving away from my personal life." She held up weapon. "I'm sorry for giving you this. It seems it only added to your burdens."

"Do you ever consider it one?"

"I have no right to complain about that."

"Because of Ishbal?"

"Yes."

Ed fiddled around with the edge of his mug for a few seconds before looking back up at her. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Probably. For the time being, Bradley's has to keep me alive to keep Roy in line," she said. It felt so odd using his first name freely in front of someone.

"I wasn't talking about Bradley," Ed said. He looked toward the doorway and turned back looking surprised.

"You thought he was eavesdropping?"

"Isn't that typical Mustang?"

"Only the one you know." That wasn't true. Mustang would've been eavesdropping if he hadn't been hit by the Rockbell information. He was likely spread across the bed with his face down in the mattress.

As Edward got up to leave, she opened the door, and he turned toward her. "Be careful."

"Instead of worrying about us so much Ed, think about the things you need to do. There are so many people waiting for you and Al to get your bodies back to the way they were. Use that to drive you."

"Yes, you're right, thank you."

"If I find out anything, I'll communicate it to you somehow."

"Oh! Speaking of communication. I forgot to tell the colonel that Scar is around. Will you tell him for me?"

"Yes. I'll relay it."

"Thanks, Lieutenant. For everything."

"You're welcome Edward."

-/-/-

Riza shut the door and smiled. If she were to have a son, she'd want him to be very similar to Ed, minus the short rants and ideas to do human transmutation. Okay, maybe she'd want a mixture of Ed and Al. That way there was strong will and commonsense in the mix.

She turned and opened the door to her bedroom. Roy was face down as she thought, but it was on her old couch rather than her softer bed. "Roy, that couch isn't good for your injuries."

"I didn't kill the Rockbells."

"I would think you'd be pleased that it wasn't you."

"Part of me is but it doesn't change the fact that I killed two people I thought were those doctors. With Winry, I sort of had a secret way of paying her back, even though nothing can value their lives. But with strangers I . . ."

"Have no way to do that," she finished for him. She knew Roy's curiosity— the damn thing showed up no matter the situation— would always question who those two people were. His heart would always desire to find a way to redeem himself. "You were led to those two people."

"Yeah and I can't help but think they were turned into the stones we used."

Riza went over to him, grabbed his arm, and pulled him until he sat up. She sat down beside him and led his head to rest on his lap. A tinge of joy went through her when a grin flittered on his lips. "What did Ed want?"

"He wanted to return my gun but I think it was a bit more that he needed someone other than Al or Winry to talk with."

"I felt that he was tense."

She ran her fingers along his jaw. "The gun I gave him was a burden onto him. It created trouble, but for some reason I don't regret giving it to him. I think he learned a lesson with it."

"Ed's a smart young man," Roy said. "He'll make it."

Riza laughed. "I never thought I'd hear you say that."

Roy huffed. "I never thought I'd say it."

"It's hard to grow up without parents."

"They had their mother and father for a short time."

"Their mother perhaps, but their father. . . Maybe they had him a while but clearly he wasn't all there for them. I don't know his story but I know mine and alchemic research is more appealing than familial ties. The more I get older the more my father's face begins to blur as if I never had one, and I find myself not giving a damn."

"Riza, did your father ever mention the homunculi?" Roy asked and sat up.

"You know the way we were, we hardly ever talked. When we did, it was usually something that benefited him and his research in some way. Why do you ask me something like that?"

"Bradley mentioned your parents. Did teacher ever say anything about knowing him?"

She tried to find any memory of her father mentioning Bradley. At the time, would Bradley have been fuehrer? She shouldn't have been surprised considering everything was happening so far. She turned to look at Roy. "What did he say?"

"Apparently as future fuehrer he was required to absorb different cultures and get to know the people. He got to know your father through that and met your mother through him and General Grumman."

"I see. What else did he tell you?" She could hear the curiosity in her own voice.

"He said that your father had potential but squandered it away by dying too early and that he hoped you would do something. He deliberately led me on."

"Maybe they were hoping I'd learn flame alchemy. That's all I can figure. Either that or they were using my father for a pawn like he's doing with you and the Elrics.

"Do you think your father's hatred toward the military could have anything to do with Bradley?"

A spark of memory flashed in her mind. She'd always thought her father hated it because of the hostile relationship he had with her grandfather. "I remember him saying something about the military will only cause pain to those that enter it. It was an offhanded comment he made one day before you came into the house. He was reading the paper. It surprised me because usually he just rants about the disgust of the military, not anything about emotional outcomes."

"Well, I think now we can safely say your tattoo's feelings around homunculi confirm your father knew what Bradley was. He probably did that to protect you."

"I can't believe that. He never cared about me."

"He asked me to take care of you didn't he? Right before he died."

"That was to set himself right with god."

"You're father didn't believe in god."

Riza nodded. "Yes he did. In the last few days he did. He said the miracles of the world, a gift of alchemy, the fact human transmutation didn't work, was proof enough there was more to science. That something had to gift us with it."

"How ridiculous," Roy said.

"Maybe. I'm not going to confirm or deny it because I can never know for sure until I die."

He shook his head and took a deep breath, a sign he thought what she said was unbelievable. He leaned his head to rest back against the couch. "I hate being unsure about things, I am for most of my life. I wish I could figure more things out."

"Curiosity killed the cat Roy."

Roy grinned. "Death on the path to knowledge. I could go for that if I didn't have a wife and goals." He opened his eyes but didn't move his head. "Too much to live for."

She leaned forward and kissed him. "Well figure it out Roy. Maybe not everything but most."

He nodded and she kissed him again, this time so much deeper and longer than the previous kiss. When she pulled away, he pulled her onto his lap. "I believe you promised to pay me back with interest."

"You're not going to let the interest accumulate?" she asked and stood. She took his hand and helped him to his feet.

"I'd rather have a lump sum, early," he said.

She led him over to the bed but he was the one to push her down onto it. "Not very sexy," she said.

"I'll fix that."


	105. First Day and Pandas

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 105: First Day and Pandas **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. **

* * *

The first area outside Fuehrer Bradley's office, where the other staff members worked, was like a dungeon. If she hadn't ridden the elevator up to the floor, she would've sworn they were residing in the basement. Everything was dark grey with the same color flooring. The lights put out enough brightness to see everything in the room, but it wasn't enough to illuminate any paperwork on the desks. Each desk had a green desk lamp used for that purpose.

She walked past all the desks and up to a door. She opened it and walked into an extreme contrast to the seriousness outside. The walls in this room—which she guessed would be her office considering there was a desk and filing cabinet there—were painted peach from the ceiling down to the middle of the wall. The rest of the wall down to the floor had pine panels with vines graved into each section. The carpet was dark green with round pinkish rugs resting under each piece of the off-white furniture.

_I'm going to be working in an Easter egg._

Her back pulsed with increasing intensity as she approached another door. She grit her teeth and knocked. She waited until she heard his voice before reaching for the doorknob. Her hand slipped at the first grab and her arm felt as heavy as lead the second time she lifted it to grasp the knob. She opened the door.

He must've used the previous room to lure people into a false sense of security, because if the first room was a dungeon, then this one was where they buried the prisoners. The change in scenery might've thrown her off guard if she hadn't known what he was and what he was doing by having her transferred to work under him.

He turned around in his chair and smiled at her. Her stomach felt nauseous, but it wasn't as bad as when the other homunculi were around. The change didn't make since, but then again, Bradley was clearly different from the others. There were times he seemed human. "Lieutenant Mustang, come in please."

She almost looked behind her to see if he was addressing someone else; being called by Mustang was going to take some getting used to. She forced herself to walk closer and while her sickness didn't get worse, the skin on her back felt as if someone was ripping it off centimeter by centimeter. Before she left her apartment, she'd taken quite a bit of pain and nausea medication after asking Knox for a recommendation of a safe amount. She didn't want to think of what kind of pain she'd be in if she hadn't taken anything. She stopped in front of his desk and saluted. "Lieutenant Hawkeye reporting as ordered, sir," she said, deliberately using her maiden name.

"So your reputation for being punctual isn't a rumor after all. Good. I am very diligent, and I expect the same for my staff."

"I'll do my best, sir."

"I know you will. My former aid will be here in a moment to show you what to do. I believe it's safe to assume you'll adapt quickly."

"Yes, sir." She clinched her teeth and tried to hide the intensifying pain. Too bad morphine is addictive. He was like tinder for the flame on her tattoo, the longer she stayed around, the more her back caught fire.

His lip quirked. "Are you in some kind of pain, lieutenant?" His voice was good at expressing fake concern. Anyone else would've believed he cared.

"A little, sir. I was injured in a small accident at home."

"Is that so? Then why don't you go out, sit down, and get acquainted with your office?" His brows furrowed for just a moment, as if he didn't like what he said, and then went back to normal.

"Thank you, sir," she said before he could change his mind. She saluted and left the room. As soon as she shut the door, she slouched, stumbled over to her desk and collapsed in the chair. She leaned forward, placed her right hand on the small of her back, her left hand on her stomach, and inhaled as much air as she could.

Damn. It hurt. How in the hell was she going to take this every single day for god knows how long? Why did her father do this to her!

"Lieutenant, are you all right?"

Riza looked up and saw Bradley's former aid, Storch. His facial expression was completely different from the one she beheld when he first served her with her transfer papers. His tone was also void of any bitterness it held before. She sat up and nodded. "Yes, just dealing with some new medications." She took one more deep breath. "The fuehrer said you were going to show me my duties."

"Yes, that's right."

She stood and hoped that this showing would require her to be away from the office for a while. "Then let's get started."

He knew he wouldn't like the office situation but he didn't know to what extent that dislike would journey. He felt like he was in prison. Like he was chained to his desk and someone was constantly watching over his shoulder for any little thing they could report to the fuehrer. The fuehrer needed him so it wasn't likely he'd be punished. Bradley would reserve any punishment for Riza, and that was worse.

"Wow, you really look hopeless." Roy's kept his face from squelching up when he looked at the doorway and saw Ed.

"Who let you in?"

"You're new aids. Apparently, they aren't as strict about your privacy as the lieutenant was."

Roy's frown darkened. He would have to make it clear that they were supposed to announce when he had a visitor. "I'm a busy man Fullmetal, what do you want?"

Ed walked over and sat down in the chair on the other side of his desk. "To see you stew in your juices of misery."

Roy dropped his pen. "Have you been going to Armstrong's poetry readings?"

Ed looked stunned. "He does poetry readings?"

Roy nodded. "It was a small out of the way basement café and Armstrong told us we could relax there away from prying eyes. When we left, the lieutenant said she'd rather face turret gunfire.

"Considering the way the major is, that doesn't surprise me. "

A knock sounded and with Roy's permission, Al entered the room. "How you holding up, colonel?" he asked.

Roy wanted to snap at the younger brother. He was a colonel in the military and had worked without his particular team a few years before he formed them. He could function just fine.

But he didn't want to. Truth be told, he was miserable and had never felt so alone in his life. His only comfort was the knowledge that when he went home he'd have Riza there. Allowing their relationship was going to cause Bradley a lot of trouble in the future.

"I'm fine Al, please come on in."

"You're polite to him, but I get rudeness," Ed said and folded his arms across his chest.

Roy looked at him and replied dryly, "Al knocked."

Ed huffed.

"You haven't told him what's going on yet have you brother?" Al said. Roy could hear the scolding in his voice.

"I was waiting for you."

"Don't you mean that you were trying to make me lose my temper?"

Ed rolled his eyes. "Anyway, are you familiar with a form of… well for conversations sake, a form of alchemy from Xing?"

"Alkahestry?"

Al leaned forward and Ed straightened in his seat. "Yeah! You know it?" Ed asked.

"Not really." The brothers faltered in their postures. Roy would've laughed if the matter weren't so touchy with him. But, if the brothers needed to know something about it, then he'd tell them what he knew: which wasn't much. "Hughes mentioned it to me once. Asked if I knew of it. I asked him what the issue regarding it was and he just shrugged and said it wasn't that big of a deal."

"Oh," Al said, disappointed.

"The truth is that I know a little about it. I heard my mother speak about it a few times, but I was just a small boy. It's used primarily for medicinal purposes. My memories of seeing it used are just as vague even though she was quite skilled. I think Hawkeye's seen it though."

"Yeah, she was there when Mei used it to help Scar escape, "Al said. "It's definitely not only for medical purposes."

Roy shrugged. "That's all my mother used it for."

"Wait wait wait," Ed said. Why would your mother know of it?"

"Brother, you can't tell by his looks?"

"Tell what? No. What do you mean?"

"It was you that said he and Ling looked similar. Back at the house when we were dealing with Gluttony."

Ed looked at Roy. "You're Xingese."

"Half. I was born in Amestris though."

"Where does your mother live?"

Roy picked up his pen and focused down on the work in front of him. "Why?"

"Because I want to talk to her about Alkahestry. She might be able to help us."

"I doubt she'll talk to you."

"Even if she might have a personality like you, I have to try!"

"Brother, that was—"

Roy threw his pen down. Being compared to that woman was just one more proverbial notch in the proverbial bedpost of bad days. "Okay Ed."

Ed took out his notebook and put his pen to the paper. "Shoot."

"Four, forty-four, Traver Street."

"Right."

"Brother," Al said, softly. "That's a cem—"

Roy grabbed his pen. "You'll find her about fifteen rows and three tombstones down from Hughes." He scraped his signature across the document in front of him. Ed looked up from his notebook, and then wordlessly put it back into his jacket pocket. "While you're at it, you should try talking to my old man. He lives right beside her. You have fun with that."

Ed's face dropped, not out of shock but in pity. "Wipe the look off your face Fullmetal. I don't care."

"But we brought bad memories to you," Al said.

Roy gave the young man a smile to try to ease his mind. "I have worse memories than losing that woman." Calling his mother a negative name wouldn't bode well for the brothers who lost their mother. They only knew of a kind mother. They didn't know that a mother would give up her son merely because boys were too hard to handle. "Is there something else you wanted?"

"Yeah, we're looking for a —"

"Cat." Ed interrupted. "Or a person with a cat. Here's a picture."

Roy looked down at the deformed looking monster hastily scratched onto the paper.

"That's supposed to be a cat? Did you have rabies when you drew this?"

Ed snatched the paper back from him. "Everyone's an art critic," he muttered.

"Here colonel, this is the cat," Al said and handed him the paper.

He pursed his lips and studied the drawing. "It's a bear. Even if it's called da xiong mao. A red panda would be more related to a—"

"Okay Colonel Zookeeper, have you seen the cat?" Ed asked.

"Bear," Al corrected.

"A panda," Roy said.

"For god's sake," Ed said.

Roy hid a grin behind his lips. Whenever Ed used the word god, he knew he was at a good level of annoyance. "I haven't seen it."

Ed stood and shoved his hand into his pocket. "If you seen the girl with that cat."

"Bear," Al said. Roy could hear him holding back a laugh and had a hard time doing the same.

Ed's shoulders tensed. "Bear"

"Panda." It was fun double-teaming the shorter Elric. Al was playing along quite well. At least this was a bit of brightness to the dull day.

"If you see the damn animal and the girl, just let us know," Ed groaned.

"Yeah, I'll ask around when I get a chance."

Ed turned and went for the door. Al followed. "Being in debt to you makes my stomach turn."

"Speaking of debt. . ." Roy stood and held out his hand. "I do believe you borrowed some money from me back at the Fuehrer's office. It's about time you pay me back."

Ed looked over his shoulder, his eyebrow cocked upward. He dug in his pocket. "Geeze, I guess I have no choice then. I figured you wouldn't remember such a small amount. How much I owe you? Five hundred cenz?"

"Don't try to cheat me. It was five hundred and twenty cenz"

Ed took the money out of his pocket but held it in his grasp. He raised the fist. "No, you aren't going to get this back. Not yet. Not until you become fuehrer."

"So, she told you that much?"

"Yes, but she didn't really need to. You're power hungry but now I know you have good reasons."

So Ed supported his goals even if he was too stubborn to admit it outright. "All right but you will pay me back one day."

"When that day comes I'll just borrow more," he said while walking to the door. Then after I return that, I'll borrow more and not return it until this place is a democracy. Then after that, I'll borrow more."

"You're going to be in a cycle of debt if you continue that route." Roy chuckled. "And what are you going to borrow on after the democracy?"

"You have to make the lieutenant a mother."

Roy nearly fell over. "What in the hell business is that of yours?"

Ed looked over his shoulder at him for the second time since he'd entered the office; this time a real smile graced his lips. "Come on, you know she'd be a great one." He opened the door. "And you wouldn't be a bad father." He quickly left the office before Roy could say anything else.

Al bowed and dashed after Ed. Roy laughed. "Maybe someday."

* * *

**AN: I am extremely sorry for the long wait. I would blame it on my laziness but in this case, that wasn't it. You all probably know by now the mass deletion of things done on the site. I've had seven stories deleted, only one of those holding an infraction for a curse in the summary (which was part of someone's username). The others were deleted for reasons unknown to me since all I got in the reason part of the email was quotation marks. I have a new archive link where I'll be posting my MA fics in addition to my word press. It's called and the link is on my profile. It could be a great place if more people signed up. **

**Anyway, I have the next chapter written (it just needs a proofreading) and I will post it very soon (within the week). I hope you enjoyed this one and please leave a review if you have the time. **


	106. The Document Pt 1

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 106: The Document: Pt 1**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

**Note: Any formatting mistakes is the site's fault. Not mine. **

* * *

"Everyone seems hostile to you, ma'am," Storch said as they walked through the hall. He was right, but what he didn't know was that every bit of it was her idea. Considering Roy's reputation and popularity with women, it wouldn't make sense that all the women at work would still like her. They'd supported Roy even though most knew he practically had a ring on his finger. Now they knew he did have a ring on his finger.

Some from the secretary pool probably did hate her, but she'd rarely gotten along with many of them because they were catty gossipers, and many weren't included in Roy's goals anyway.

"It's because of the marriage announcement. Many of them had hopes on the colonel."

"So he really didn't go out with any of them?"

"I have no idea. Probably not," she said, deciding it would be better to pretend to be an ignorant wife. " I figure it's the case of one girl gets the idea of making herself look better than the others by saying she dated him, or maybe she did before we met, then the other girls brag, and before you know it, everything is blown way out proportion."

"Yes, society is much like a giant high school," Storch said.

"I wouldn't know. I didn't go to high school. I was home taught."

"Obviously by a good teacher. I've never seen anyone catch on as quickly as you do, ma'am. It took the fuehrer's aids a week to learn the filing system and to know where everything is. You recited the proper officers like they were tattooed on you."

Riza tensed at both the good teacher and tattoo comment. "I just have a good memory, that's all. Besides, you're a good teacher sergeant." She hadn't liked Storch when he came to give her the transfer papers, but through the day, he'd grown on her. He turned out to be an easy going, humorous man. Too good for the fuehrer. "Sergeant, you seem to have enjoyed being Fuehrer Bradley's assistant, so I want you to know that it wasn't my intention to take your place."

"I'm aware of that, ma'am. The fuehrer told me everything that's going on. He transferred you because of your marriage."

Riza nodded. It seemed Storch wasn't aware of what the fuehrer was. She was glad for that. She didn't want him to be a bad guy. "Where are you being transferred to?"

She noticed Storch hesitate. "Colonel Mustang's office."

She didn't let herself react to his news with anything other than an, "I see."

"I was ordered to watch him and if he made a bad move, whatever that means, to report it. But I won't."

She could hear truth in his voice. If anything, she recognized that much in a person. "Why?"

She felt him slip something in her hand. "Because I know exactly what he is." He moved to stand in front of her and saluted. "Take care of yourself, ma'am." He nodded toward the envelope. "That will shed light on how I know. I found it in some files that I don't think I was supposed to see."

"Sergeant, are you in danger?"

"Probably, but I think I'll be okay."

She nodded. "Talk to the colonel when you get a chance."

"I will. Please, be careful when you go to the location, and go alone."

She looked down at the envelope in her grip. "All right." Roy wasn't going to like her decision.

"And Ma'am, when the time comes with whatever you are doing, I'll be there."

"Why?"

He hesitated again and moved his gaze away from hers. "I was on the front lines of Ishbal when the war started."

She heard that tone. The one they all had when talking about the war. The one filled with remorse, feeling filthy, and soldered with guilt. "I understand."

**-/-/-**

Central Train Station Four was crowded with the evening rush crowd by the time she got there, which made her chosen time a blessing and a curse. It made it harder for someone to follow and keep track of her if there were any non-homunculi trailing her, but at the same time, the follower could easily blend in with the masses. At least they were on equal footing.

The envelope she'd gotten from Storch contained nothing but a key and a train-station locker number. She'd spent her entire evening going to all the stations near her district in Central City since he hadn't elaborated on which one she needed to go to.

As she pushed her way through all the people, she made sure to put a part of her focus on her back, waiting for any now familiar sensations that would tell her a homunculus was in the vicinity. By the time she got to the rented lockers—amazed Storch would rent something just for this situation—the main part of the station had emptied. She waited for the last person to leave the locker area before finding locker 113. She smelt a faint, odd, but familiar odor seeping from the small slits in the metal door.

She'd been amazed at the smells radiating through the slits in each locker she'd tried. Everything from grilled cheese sandwiches to cucumber scents, and she could've sworn she heard a hiss come from one of the lockers.

She inserted the key and nearly cried in triumph as she unlocked it and was able to open the door. She jumped back as a strong version of the smell from before hit her nostrils. Hayate ran to the edge of the lockers and gave a short whine.

The smell vaguely reminded her of Roy's laundry when he was too lazy to wash it, only it was more potent. The scent was a mix of gym socks, mold, and sweat. Anyone not privy to Roy's odors probably would've fallen over. She grabbed the gym bag in the locker and it wasn't until she unzipped it that she realized how stupid a move it was. _What if that would've been some sort of bomb? _

Well, if it were a bomb, she'd be dead and wouldn't have to worry anymore.

She gagged when an odor much more potent than the socks belted her. Why didn't someone inspect these lockers? The smell certainly was enough reason to investigate.

"Maybe they're afraid of fainting," she muttered. She searched through the gym bag and didn't find anything of importance, but knew she'd have to wash her hands numerous times to get rid of the smell. She looked back into the locker and frowned. What did Storch want her to do? His laundry?"

She was about to put the gym bag back into the locker when her eyes happened to glance up. Taped to the top of the locker with duct tape, was a thin manila envelope. She looked around her and then reached up to grab it.

"I hope this isn't another locker key." The envelope was stiff and she shook it. There was no rattle. She shoved it into her tote bag before returning the gym bag to the locker. She shut the locker and turned to go. "Come on Hayate, let's get home."

**-/-/-**

She was about two blocks away from her district when she heard a loud car horn blaring behind her. "I'm on the sidewalk bastard," she muttered. She didn't look in the direction of the car and rolled her eyes when it pulled up beside her.

"How much would it cost me to have your company for the night?"

She recognized the voice and her posture relaxed. She looked at Roy and smiled as he stopped the car from its creep. He should've been at Christmas's place by now. "You couldn't afford me. Besides, how do you know I'm for sale?"

"That little peek of leg coming from that slit in your skirt is such a tease. Come on, I know a great place."

"You should've already been there."

"I had to stay late at the office. I'm much slower without my beautiful lieutenant at my side, and I have a slow staff now. So what do you say, Missus Mustang? How about a date?"

She smiled. "I guess I could accept."

She let Hayate into the back seat before getting into the car. Roy then set off toward Christmas's place.

"I was surprised you weren't at the apartment," Roy said when he stopped at an intersection to let another car pass. "I wanted to take you out on a date since we can go out now."

"The fuehrer told us we shouldn't flaunt it."

"Christmas's place isn't flaunting it. Especially not tonight since it's reserved by a special party."

"I suppose you're right."

"Why are you out?"

"I'm not allowed out?"

Roy shrugged. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just you don't normally go out this time of night."

Riza felt sort of put out by that. She went out with friends occasionally. When Rebecca came to town, they went out shopping and to the movies. That was before Roy started staying with her again though. She didn't want to tell him about her trips tonight. He wanted a date and she liked the idea of spending time with him without having to worry about discovery. She didn't want to spend the evening arguing over her actions.

"Can it wait till later?"

Roy's face fell into seriousness. "Is it something serious?"

"I don't know yet."

She saw him cast her an odd look. She could've left out the envelope if he didn't ask in detail, but she'd promised she wouldn't keep things from him. That meant the positions would be reversed, and Roy would be scolding her: something she was highly uncomfortable with.

He pulled the car into an alley and moved around to the back of the building. When he cut the motor, she felt his hand on her shoulder. "Let's go in."

"I'll come in a minute. I want to let Hayate use the bathroom."

Okay," he said his voice full of suspicion. They got out of the car and Roy walked to the bar. She felt his eyes on her as she let Hayate out of the car. The first thing the dog did was pee on the tires then run to a trashcan to mark it.

"Come on Hayate." She saw Roy entered the bar quickly out of the corner of her eye. She followed him inside but stopped at the door. Her eyes narrowed.

"Hey," Roy said when he stepped further into the bar.

"Roy," a girl she didn't know yelled, "long time no see."

**-/-/- **

Raven leaned toward Vanessa and whispered, "I thought you told Fiona he was involved."

"Don't you mean married?" Jami asked.

"Shush, we don't know if that's a rumor or not," Raven replied.

"I hope not. I ship them so hard," Riri said.

Raven pinched her cheeks and laughed. "You and your shipping. It's getting obsessive."

Vanessa put her palm over her face. "It doesn't matter. Either way, I forgot to tell her he was taken."

**-/-/-**

Roy's eyes widened. "Um… Fiona? Is that you?"

The girl laughed. "Of course it's me silly. I work for your mother now."

Christmas walked into the room and behind the bar. "Roy boy, how—Riza! Come in."

"Are you sure? It's looking a bit crowded," she said and shut the door when Hayate came in and stood beside her. So they didn't tell this girl about Roy being off-limits. But more importantly, who was she. Roy had never mentioned a Fiona to her before. Riza glanced at Roy's finger and saw his ring was missing. Then again, they hadn't came out and told his family they were married. Not that they really need to now.

No matter. She'd worry about that later. Right now, the pressing matter was prying that girl away from her husband and making sure she kept her pink, perfectly manicured-nailed hands to herself. Riza marched toward them and physically pulled him away from the girl. He went away easily; lucky for him otherwise he would've gotten a berating so harsh it would be burned on his brain for all time.

She grabbed his neck and pulled off the dog tags, not caring if she broke the chain, grabbed the ring off, and slid it onto his finger. "That goes there." She glared at the woman. "And your hands need to keep to yourself." Riza sauntered past the bar and Christmas, and headed up to Roy's room. Hayate followed on her heels.

"She's not happy," Raven said in a singsong voice.

"You're married?" Fiona asked and turned to the others. "Why didn't you tell me? If that was the Riza you talked about, I have a sniper mad at me!"

"Hey, we weren't sure about them being married," Raven said.

Roy chuckled. "Just pay attention to her warning and you'll be fine."

She held up her hands. "Hands to self. Got it."

Roy walked up to the bar and sat down. Christmas leaned forward, smiled, and then smacked him upside the head. He grabbed the bar to keep from falling over.

"Madam, for the love of . . . What'd you do that for?"

"You were married and didn't tell us. Be thankful we all don't slap you."

Riri leaped from her seat, grabbed him around the neck, and hugged him. "My shipper came true! Thank you!" she said and scampered away.

Roy looked at Christmas. "What the hell is a shipper?"

"It's some sort of lingo that goes with something she likes. I have no idea of the details." Her eyes narrowed. "How long, boy?"

"How long what?"

"Stop playing stupid," she snapped.

Roy cringed at her tone and meekly answered, "Since Ishbal."

He leaned back to avoid another swing. It never came. He leaned forward and she grabbed his ear and yanked him toward her. "And you didn't think I might like to know?"

"Of course I knew you would, but it was safer for everyone to be kept in the dark about it. It was a best kept secret."

She snorted. "Not so much now."

"No, otherwise you still wouldn't know." He regretted his words when the hold on his ear tightened. "Madam, please let go of my ear now."

Christmas pinched his ear even tighter for a second before letting go and turning to the shelf behind her. Roy honestly hadn't thought she'd be so upset over the situation.

"You angry?"

"I'm thrilled," she said, though not in a typical joyous tone a normal person might use. Christmas had never been a normal person. "It means I don't have to nag the two of you to get married when you get to your goal." She grabbed a bottle from the shelf at the bar. "What are you having to drink?"

It amazed him how Christmas could go from pissed to calm within seconds. When he was a child, she'd spank him, and then end up hugging him afterward while explaining why she did it. "I can't drink right now. I'm still on pain medicine." He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and slid it to her. "I need something special instead."

Christmas picked up the paper and her upper lip flew into a grin. She laughed. "I can't wait to see his reaction."

Roy groaned. Grumman's reaction would make Christmas's actions appear monk-like in comparison. The old man had been pressuring him into marrying his granddaughter so she could retire from the military and have him great grandchildren.

"Um, it's clear you guys didn't know until now about him being married and I understand your annoyance, but don't you think that he should be paying attention to his wife. She didn't look happy," Fiona said.

"You're just worried about saving your ass," Raven said.

"Of course I am. Wouldn't you be?"

"She's right," Roy said. "Riza has been acting awkward ever since I picked her up. Something is probably weighing on her."

Raven laughed. "She looked more like she was going to cut off your—"

"Shut up."

**-/-/-**

She felt as if she was holding an envelope full of snakes. Her mind pondered all the possible things that could be inside. Storch wouldn't have gone through all the trouble if it hadn't been important. The information had to have something to do with her, otherwise; he would've waited until he was working under Roy and would've given him the key. And he specifically told her to go alone, so was this something only she was supposed to see? Either way, it didn't matter because she shared everything with Roy. Maybe Storch thought differently.

"Whatever that is, it's not going to open with you just staring at it," Roy said. She was surprised he was standing in front of her. She hadn't heard the door open or shut and hadn't realized she could zone out to such an extent. She'd have to be more careful.

"I know."

He nodded toward the envelope. "Is that the source of your nervousness tonight?"

"I wasn't nervous. I was dreading it because I don't want to fight with you over it." She hadn't meant to remove it from her tote just yet; she intended to spend a nice night with Roy first, but the envelope taunted her like a huge piece of chocolate cake sitting on a table after she just finished a workout.

Roy laughed and sat down beside her on the bed. "We won't fight. I promise whatever it is I won't get mad." He grinned at her. "It's not pregnancy test results is it?"

She laughed at his attempt to lighten the mood. "No, the fuehrer's former aide, Storch gave it to me. Or rather"—she took a deep breath and then continued,—"gave me the location to find it." _Gah, why did I word it that way?_ It would've been fine to say only that Storch gave it to her. Her mouth was always running over when it didn't need to. Thankfully, it only happened when she was around Roy.

"Storch . . . Oh. He's being reassigned to my unit," Roy said.

Riza was relieved he hadn't asked her to specify on the location part. "Yes, he's a good guy. He knows what the fuehrer is and was in Ishbal." She held up the envelope. "I think he put himself in danger to get whatever this is. Though I don't completely trust him, he does hold remorse for Ishbal. That much I'm sure."

"You're saying he's a possible ally?"

"Yes, and he also said the fuehrer wanted him to report back anything wrong you did. He said he wouldn't."

Roy nodded. "I figured that's why the particular people were chosen. They're also a lousy staff. I've never seen so many lazy people. I had to actually scold them for letting Edward in my office without asking me if I had time or not, and I had to make them work late to finish their work."

"They'll probably do worse in the long run to try to make you lose your temper. Please keep a level head."

"Will do. Now . . . what in the hell do you mean location?" She turned her head away from him. "You thought I didn't hear, didn't you?"

_I was hoping you hadn't._ "The first envelope Storch gave me had a key to a train station locker. So I went to several stations that were closest to the apartment. I figured he was smart enough to look up my address and put the locker in a close place."

"You went alone?"

She didn't move her head but she looked at him from the corner of her eyes. "You said we wouldn't fight and you wouldn't get mad."

Roy puckered out his cheeks and breathed out. It was what she deemed Roy's angry puffer fish face. "I'm not mad."

"I can handle myself just fine and if you remember I have a homunculi detector. You can't be so overprotective over me now. I'm working for a homunculus for goodness sake."

Roy looked at her. "You're right, but that arrangement will be only until I find a way to get you back."

She finally ventured a look at him. His face wasn't flushed, and his face was void of the anger that usually brewed underneath his expression before he yelled at her. "The only way to do that soon would be to have me retire." She saw him open his mouth. "No, I won't. Besides, he'd never allow that. He'd probably end up killing me."

"You're right," he said and then tapped the envelope once with his knuckles. "So, let's open this up and find out what it is."

She nodded and undid the clasp holding the flap shut. Then she pulled out a thick document. Something felt to her feet. Roy bent to pick it up as she focused on the document trying to figure out a bit of the highly scientific wording. She didn't understand a thing.

Until she saw a name typed into the middle paragraph.

* * *

**AN: Am I the only one that thinks this site is turning into an ugly piece of crap? *sigh* Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm planning (If my net stays in and the site doesn't go all apeshit) to update this every Sunday except the last one of every month. The schedule for my other fics are posted on my profile. I'm experimenting with different schedules to see which is the best one for my time. **

**Thank you for reading and please leave a review in what my friends deem, the big honkin' review box. I never thought I'd miss the button. **


	107. The Document Pt 2

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 107: The Document P2**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit with this fanfiction. **

**AN: I know someone will mention the weird name. Giolladhe is a special name of a late family member. It's pronounced either Joel la deh or Gil la deh. I've heard people say it so many ways even I'm unsure of the proper pronunciation. The name worked quite well with the character (I have reasons for using it and there's a meaning behind it).**

* * *

This couldn't be right. She wanted to forget she ever saw that piece of paper, or at the very least deny the name typed on it was his. There were more Hawkeyes around, but the name Berthold was extremely rare. She remembered him telling her, when she complained about her name once, that his parents deliberately chose Berthold because of its uniqueness.

"What's wrong?"

She handed him the paper. His eyes skimmed from the top and he held it a bit closer as he got to, what she guessed to be, the middle of the document. "Your father."

"That has to be wrong. You know how he felt when you joined the military. You remember all the rants he had against it whenever something about it appeared in the newspaper. It makes no sense that he'd be helping them."

"Maybe the reason he hated it was because of firsthand experience."

She nodded. "It could be a bit of the reason, but the family hated the military before that."

"There's another name here," he said and pointed to the bottom of the document. She leaned over to have a look. "Giolladhe Hawkeye, do you know him?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"I would definitely remember a name like Giolladhe if it was mentioned. Father occasionally talked about the Hawkeye family even before mother died, but what I know I just put together from tidbits he told me or offhanded comments he made."

"Like?"

"Well I know Grandfather Hawkeye died young, and the Hawkeye family was upset he married my mother because she was a military brat and poor. They had his bride picked out for him and he rebelled."

"Your father was from a rich family? I never would've guessed."

"Oh yes."

"You'd think things would change after a grandchild was born. It usually does."

"It did with Grumman when he discovered he had a granddaughter. From what he told me, he tried for years before father allowed me to write him back. I've never gotten a straight answer as to what exactly happened between grandfather and my mother. My father's family offered reconciliation after my mother died, but he said he'd soon as kill me than expose me to those people. I've met them once in my adult life, right before academy, and I consider his actions it the most merciful thing he's done.

"Well your family doesn't like the military, your father's name is in this document, and there's a man named Giolladhe Hawkeye in the papers as well. There's no way there can't be a connection between it."

"I never denied that," she said, a bit testier than she intended. "I suppose I'm going to have to contact my father's side of the family to find anything out." She hoped that would be a last resort. Roy and Grumman were enough family for her and she didn't want other people butting into her life. Besides, she was military so she doubted they would talk with her anyway.

"Or look in records. Giolladhe Hawkeye has to be there somewhere. But it would arouse suspicion if one of us searched for it. How about we have Scieszka take a look? She could do it without much of an issue."

"But would she? She doesn't know about our plan."

"No, but at Hughes funeral she asked that I try to find out who killed him. She said she'd help in any way she could. She might remember something she saw at the least. I'll check on it."

"What does the rest of the document say?" Riza loathed being unable to rush through all the technical jargon to the route of the matter. If her husband weren't so damned smart, she'd be lost at times. It was really a pity she wasn't as educationally adept. She had just enough practical maths to get by with, and science was a lost cause. Give her language arts and English any day.

"There's not much in the way of…" He flipped the page. "Okay, this is interesting. Experiments involved the adaptation of weapons as a means to protect the country."

"We know that's bull."

"The weapons adaptation part makes sense. We know experiments with the philosophers stones were going on. We know the resource was live humans and we know the homunculi were involved."

"If my father was really there, it would explain how he knew something about the homunculi."

"What I don't get is why, and this was around the time you were born. Did your father ever spend long periods away?"

"I remember he spent more time away after mother got sick." She heard the bitterness in her voice and tried to banish it. "He stayed gone a lot but the doctor came to take care of her. He left for a few months after she died. I was young so he left me with the butcher and his family."

Riza remembered those times fondly. He'd given them all the money he had, short of train fare, for them to take care of her. The butcher ended up giving her the money back and told her never to let her father know. During that time, she didn't miss her mother too much and didn't miss her father at all.

She'd felt like she had a normal family. The butcher and his wife treated her like she was their birth child, and she'd found herself wishing her father wouldn't return. He didn't love her so why did he even care to come back. Every single day she'd look outside and wonder if he was going to return. When finally one day, he did, and she lost the little comfy room the butcher's wife gave her, her warm baths, and her story before bed. After that, she learned to grow up fast and became a walking notebook.

"It would fit in with this year?"

Riza looked at the date he was pointing to. "Yes, this was before mother died. When she was sick."

Roy flipped the page to another report. "And this? It mainly states that the research has advanced and test subject has been released."

Riza looked at the date. "It's after mother's death."

"Do you think your father would sell himself for testing?"

"I doubt that. Maybe he was helping with the testing."

Roy flipped through the rest of the pages. "All of this doesn't go into detail about the experiment past advanced weaponry and protection for the country from enemies. The rest is budget." Roy lifted a finger and ran it down the spreadsheet. "I don't see any odd payments. There's not even a list of salary payments. It's impressive that Storch would get the hint to give us this over just names and a strange experiment that I doubt even he believes."

"He's a smart man."

Roy eyed her and she saw his lips lower. "I heard admiration."

"Yes you did. Jealous?"

"Should I be?"

Riza leaned against him. "Should I be jealous of that girl downstairs?"

"No."

"Then no. Besides, of all the guys I know. Storch isn't my type."

Roy rested the documents on his lap."Which one is?"

There was jealously. It was nice to see him get a little insecure at times; it evened things with her large insecurity sitting on her shoulders. There's no way she'd tell him the truth because he was already angry with Edmund. "Do you really want to know?"

Roy huffed. "No, I don't. Never mind."

She decided to answer anyway. "The fuehrer."

"What?" Roy twisted around and she tried not to laugh. He immediately realized he fell for her joke. "Well, when I'm fuehrer that will make me happy."

She forced a smile even though her stomach was in knots. He grabbed her around the waist and fell back onto the bed, letting the paper on his lap fall to the side. He pinned her down. "We'll find out what your father was doing there and who this Giolladhe Hawkeye is. I promise."

She knew he deliberately changed the subject to try to get her to relax, to take her mind off circumstances, and reassure her. She had no doubt he would find something, she just worried about the means he'd used to get it. She wasn't sure why it was so important to him. Hell, even she wasn't sure why she wanted to know more. The tattoo on her back was handy and there was no way to get it out of her skin and probably no way to get rid of its effects unless Roy burned her entire back. The scar hurt at times too so that might not even work and then she'd be left with an uglier and larger scar and the pain. She reached up to stroke his face. "Don't get yourself in danger for it. It's not worth that."

Roy lowered his lips to her neck. "I won't, but it is worth it." He ran his tongue along her jaw before taking her bottom lip between her teeth and sucking. He let it go and grinned. "Enough. I do believe this is a date isn't it?"

"I usually don't do things like this on a first date." She wrapped her arms around his neck and moved her lips to his, but a deep rumbling interrupted any further actions. "Was that your stomach or mine?"

"Does it matter? You hungry?"

"Yeah."

"Then let's eat and then get back to this. You're going to need all the energy you can get with what I have planned."

"Planned?"

"Yes. Afraid?"

She laughed. "Terrified."

_**-/-/-**_

"Well isn't that a sad sight, Mrs. Mustang all by her lonesome. What's the matter, hubby out cheating as usual?"

Riza looked up from her lunch tray at the girls from personnel office. Everyone in the mess hall went dead quiet; she stood. Astana, the "leader" of the girls, really knew how to pick a perfect place. "I believe you are to address me by Lieutenant Hawkeye, or Ma'am, Sergeant Del'tio. The fuehrer wouldn't be happy to hear you're going around being insubordinate."

She tried not to laugh at how Astana actually made her face look pale. The girl seriously should've been an actor. The other girls took a step back. "Forgive me, Ma'am."

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood. Get out of my sight, sergeant."

The woman saluted and the other's followed suit; they turned and left the mess hall. Riza sat and looked back down at her food, ignoring the stares from the other people in the room. She knew quite a few supported Roy so she wasn't uncomfortable with the staring.

"Doesn't she act special," she heard someone whisper, unsure if it was one of the supporters acting or someone who honestly disliked her. Nor did she really care. Her mind was too focused on trying to seem uncaring. It was hard since her mind wouldn't stop processing what they discovered last night. She'd taken the chance to look for some things in the files she tended to that morning and came up with nothing. She figured Bradley would be smart enough to hide things about her father, but he'd told Roy a significant amount of information and Storch's info brought forth another piece of the puzzle.

Her father was involved in the military; that was probably the truth on how Bradley knew him, not socialization, and that made her uneasy because she didn't know what else the man was lying about. He knew her mother through Grumman so her grandfather would probably know something about that. She felt digging into her relative's past was a burden, and had enjoyed the blissful ignorance about her father and family.

"Mind if I sit here?" She looked up. Storch was standing in front of her, holding a tray.

"Not at all, but isn't this risky?"

"What risk? I thought you wanted my advice on being an assistant so you can best serve our great fuehrer to your best potential."

She could hear the sarcasm hidden within his sentence. "Oh, yes. Please, sit." He said down, grabbed his piece of bread, and proceeded to tear it into his soup. "Tell me something?"

"Yeah?" He took a sip of soup.

"Did you dip your gym clothing in five day old diarrhea?"

He nearly dropped his spoon and a giant laugh left him before he could stop it. When he settled down, he said, "Those weren't my gym clothes. I stole Armstrong's thong in the locker room."

"Hope you wore gloves."

"I used a towel."

Riza took a bite of her food, happy she wasn't the type that had a weak stomach. "If I didn't need to fire a gun, I would take your steak knife and cut off my hand."

"You mean you wouldn't go the disinfecting by battery acid route?"

"Battery acid is too hard to attain. Permits and all that stuff."

"You have a point."

She glanced around her to make sure no one in association with the fuehrer's office was nearby before she started on the topic she wanted to discuss. "Giolladhe Hawkeye, did you see anything else about him. Information that you couldn't include in your copies."

"I did some research on your father's name to make sure that Berthold was related before I even thought about sending you those files. I didn't see anything about Giolladhe Hawkeye."

"What did you find about my father?"

"No more than what you saw in that document. Would you like information on Giolladhe Hawkeye? I have ways of finding it."

"If all other means is exhausted, I may need your help. For now, thank you. You've put a good chance of confirmation on some things we were wondering about."

"Anytime. Now, are you saying you trust me?"

"Not yet," she said honestly.

"What can I do to earn it?"

"Don't betray us."

"Well that's common sense."

"Trust comes with time. You have to be willing to wait."

He shrugged. "I have a lot of time. I'll prove you can trust me."

**-/-/-**

"Giolladhe Hawkeye. Oh yes, I remember seeing a name like that. It was in one of the record rooms I was organizing. I went in there by mistake and organized for a short time before I was given other work. They really loaded me down after that, and I haven't been able to tidy up any place since."

"Think you can get back in there and copy the files?" Roy didn't like asking someone to do something for such a personal reason, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized it wasn't as personal. If he found out more about Giolladhe Hawkeye, he could find out more about Berthold. If he did that, he might discover why Berthold made the tattoo and what made it work. Then maybe the homunculi's weakness would be revealed.

"I have a great memory. It won't take me long to skim once I find them. This is for the lieutenant right?"

Roy nodded. "And for my. . ." Though she'd offered support, she was still in the dark about what exactly he was trying to do.

"Revenge."

That worked for now. He wasn't out for only revenge but he'd be lying if it weren't a small part of his strong desire to bring down the current brass. "Yes."

"I'll get what you need. I'll find out all I can."

"It might be dangerous," Roy said as he pretended to fill out a form on the desk in front of him.

"I don't care. I want to help," she whispered.

He slipped a piece of paper toward her, complete with the form. "Memorize that address, then destroy it. It's where you can send the information if you find anything."

**-/-/- **

"Grumman said that he'd meet me at Hughes' grave," Roy said as he fixed his shirt collar. Riza was amused with the fact Roy stayed so dressed up all the time. The only time he wasn't in a suit was when they were sleeping or just lounging around the house. Outside, if not in uniform, he was always in a suit, always with a tie, always with a scarf. Regardless of his ladies man reputation, some people thought he was gay because of his tidy appearance since most men went around in casual wear.

But his handsome appearance meant she'd have to update her wardrobe now that they were allowed to be seen together. She didn't want to make him look shoddy. Rebecca would be thrilled to hear that since she was always nagging about going shopping and Riza's aversion to spending a little money.

"Are you going to mention what we've discovered about my father?" she asked.

"Do you want me to? We don't have to discuss it with him."

"I think he deserves to know. Besides, he might offer some insight to how Bradley reacted around mother since he met her through grandfather."

He turned around to face her. "Want to come along?"

"No."

"So you're going to leave me all alone to face the fact he found out we were married."

"That's not what you two are going to be discussing." She was sure Grumman would give him a hard time and felt a tinge of guilt for not going.

"Don't pull that on me."

"Sorry."

Roy draped his tie across the chair and turned to her. He folded his arms and grinned. Oh, she didn't like the look on his face. It was usually reserved for the times he acted in a "me man, you woman, listen to me" type manner. In a way, she found it charming and sexy. "You're going."

_I knew that was coming_. She'd hold her ground on this topic even though she should go with him. "No I'm not." But she was. She knew she'd end up going.

Roy walked over to her and bent over. "If I make it an order?"

She fell back on the bed, feeling abnormally lazy. "You can't order me around. We're off duty. Besides, what if Scieszka calls us?"

"Get up and get dressed," he said, his voice more serious than usual. She sat up and saw his face held nothing of what came through in his voice.

"You're really going to make me go?"

"You know it's only fair," he said. "He's your grandfather after all, and we were together when Christmas found out."

Actually, she was up in the room when Christmas reacted. He was right. It was unfair to have him face her grandfather alone. "I'm getting as proficient at laziness and procrastination as you are."She stood and went over to get out a dress; she was unreasonably resentful Roy was "making" her go, but resigned to the fact that it was better to get the bad situation over and done with.

* * *

**An: I proofread as closely as I could. My mother is currently in the hospital and doesn't want me to see her in there, so I'm distracted. She told me not to worry, like that's possible, and then told me to write since it calms me down. So here I am. I really hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	108. A Bit of Past Revelations

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 108: A Bit of Past Revelations**

**Beta: NommxNomm  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and this fiction is written only as an expression of dedication to this pairing and fandom. It's a noncommercial work and not a product of the original owners. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of original characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. **

* * *

"When I die, make sure I'm not buried," Roy said when he straightened from placing flowers on Maes' grave. Riza thought it was a simple enough request to honor. That is, if he died first – which wasn't going to happen if she had anything to do with it. "I don't want to be in the damp ground," he continued. "The worst part of his funeral was thinking about that happy man being covered by depressing wet dirt. It's so confining."

Riza didn't bother mentioning it wasn't Maes; it was just a hull. If there were anything left of Maes, he wouldn't know how his body was treated after he left it. But that was looking at it from the view of the dead person: from the view that souls were real. As a living person, she didn't like the idea of being sealed in a casket and thrown into the ground. "I don't want to be buried either."

"Are we going to get into another discussion about who will end up dying first?"

She let her lips quirk for a moment. It was an argument they'd had a few times. Even if he did die first, she wouldn't be around long enough to make sure his final wishes were carried out. It didn't matter. Neither wish mattered because she knew if she died, he'd end up dead as well. One couldn't function without the other.

"That would be me you young brats." They turned around and saw an old lady lumbering toward them, a large bouquet of flowers resting between the crook of her elbow and her chest. She stopped when she stood a foot in front of them. "At my age it makes me wonder when it's my turn."

Riza narrowed her eyes to better study the woman. There was something familiar about her and her clothing. Her eyes widened.

"Don't say that Ma'am, you look so—"

Riza grabbed his arm, her fingers sinking down into his skin. "Roy, that's-"

It took a few more seconds for him to realize who was in front of him. "Holy shit! Grumman?"

He let out a Santa Clause style laugh before saying, "We promised to meet at Hughes' grave, did we not? I figured things must be getting intense if you're contacting me, so I came in disguise." He brushed past them to put flowers on the late officer's grave.

"I would've never foreseen a disguise like that."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Is that grandmother's old dress?" Riza asked. She remembered seeing it one summer when she helped him clean out his attic.

"Yes, just altered. No one else could have such horrible taste." He extended his hand to her; she looked at him oddly while she cautiously took it. "I see you brought your wife here." He snorted. "Mrs. Mustang, nice to meet you."

Riza jerked her hand out of his since the last sentence was more caustic than happy. "It would've been nice to be given a hint to your status. It would've saved me some worrisome matchmaking."

"I hope I was your first choice."

"Actually, n—"

"You shouldn't have been matchmaking me to begin with!" Riza knew her grandfather had been fond of Edmund Carnell and she didn't want to deal with Roy's jealousy in regards to the man.

"I do hope you'll have a proper wedding when everything is over and done with."

"We have more important things to worry about," Riza said.

Grumman muttered something under his breath before speaking aloud. "I heard about the transfer of all your subordinates and about your discovered marriage. I suspect the separation of your team isn't really punishment for breaking the frat laws. With some officers, it's undeniable that more than paperwork is being done in the office."

Riza fought down a blush as she remembered a specific time in the office where she practically jumped Roy, but in her defense, he was stressed and needed a break. It was her duty to make sure he was able to work properly after all.

"You're right there," Roy said. "The entire upper echelon, all of Central command, is corrupt. That includes General Raven, sir."

"And you're confident enough that I'm not? You trust me?"

"I wouldn't have contacted you if I wasn't."

"I don't," Riza said suddenly. She hadn't meant to voice her thoughts aloud. She loved her grandfather, respected the man, but no matter how bad she wanted to, she didn't have a solid level of trust that a granddaughter should have.

"Oh? Well that's news to me."

His voice was as calm as if she'd just shared a weather forecast rather than something as serious as mistrust. In a way, it was confirming that she indeed couldn't trust him. Wouldn't a typical grandfather be more upset over what she just said? She frowned when he directed his attention to Roy.

"Years ago, when I was still in Central, Raven came to me and asked if I would be interested in an army of invincible immortal soldiers."

"What'd you say?" Riza asked, pushing forward into the conversation even though her mind was still pondering his reactions.

"I rejected his idea immediately. It's pointless. Life wouldn't be worth living if you were immortal because you'd always have time. If you always had time, you'd never set goals for yourself. Shortly after that conversation, they sent me to Eastern HQ to deal with all the issues there."

"The most volatile region," Riza said.

Grumman chuckled. "I don't think they expected me to live through half the things going on there. I'm a stubborn old codger. I figure they transferred you back to Central because they had plans to invite you into their little group. If you didn't accept then you probably would've been sent back to the eastern confusion or into another volatile section of the country. Maybe the South since it's a proverbial time bomb."

"Speaking of eastern confusion, you remember the riots in Lior?"

"Yes, the issue with the prophet right?"

"The Eastern troops were able to quell the riot in its earlier stages, but then; Central told them to stand down, sent soldiers there, and the riots intensified to the point I thought it would be another Ishbal."

The thought of that happening sent a shiver through Riza. She closed her eyes for a moment to push back what she'd done during the war and what she'd done to save the Fuhrer. She should've let him die; should've shot him herself.

"They must be plotting something here in Central. Maybe they are using the bodies for that immortal army Raven was talking about."

"You're watching too many zombie films grandfather." She joked so she could get all the should'ves out of her head.

"Why in the hell couldn't they wait until after my retirement to start this shit?"

"You wouldn't be satisfied sitting somewhere in the boondocks doing nothing, while so much excitement is going on around you."

"He's right, grandfather. You aren't the type."

"You have a lot of loyal soldiers working under you. Many who are seasoned veterans of all the wars we've have. A lot from the Ishbalan war too."

Grumman laughed, making himself sound like a cackling witch rather than using his typical grandfather laugh. If the situation wasn't so tense, she might have found it amusing. Instead, she focused on how Roy was trying to manipulate Grumman; he wanted to see how the older man reacted. Because of this, she wondered if Roy really trusted her grandfather.

"I knew one day you'd come crying to me. That's why I hid the secret number in the chess piece. I never thought you'd ever go as far as to try to incite me into action." He adjusted his hat and gave a mischievous grin. "Now you've got this old geezer excited for an old-fashioned coup."

"Don't get too excited," Riza said. "You might have a heart attack or worse, start crying and your mascara will run."

Roy laughed and hugged her tighter against him.

"That would be awful. Tee hee," Grumman said. Then his countenance turned serious. "Since you two are free, let's go get some tea."

"Actually, we have to—"

"Good, glad you can make it," Grumman said as he turned around, completely ignoring her. He looked over his shoulder. "I know a place called Christmas's Bar that serves the best tea. It will be an interesting experience."

Roy and Riza slouched as he walked away. "He listens well doesn't he?" Roy said.

Riza sighed. "Case of selective hearing."

"Well, at least when we're there we can ask him what he knows about the Hawkeye family."

"Yes, you're right."

"You two coming?" Grumman yelled with his female voice.

-/-/-

After they were safely situated in a booth at Christmas's bar, Grumman searched the documents Storch had gotten for Riza. He shook his head after he finished each page. When he came to the final one, he laid it down and closed the manila folder they were in. "This is incredible. I knew research about weapons was going on but I didn't know the Hawkeyes' were involved with it."

"So you know Giolladhe Hawkeye?"

"I'm afraid not. I don't recall your father ever working for us either. He had a negative feeling on the military so I don't imagine he'd ever work for them. But keep in mind I only knew him for the short time he dated your mother."

He scooted the documents back toward Riza. She picked them up and put them in her tote bag. "She told me she was going to marry him and I blew my top, she was too young to marry. Only seventeen. I was hot under the collar in those days as well so I . . . kicked your mother out after that."

Though he rarely spoke of her mother, when he did there was loneliness and grief inside his voice. That action of alienating her made her grandmother leave him. She used this time to venture a question that had been weighing on her mind since the day she'd first spoken face to face with him. "Is that the only reason grandmother left you?"

He looked surprised. "Why do you ask that?"

"Grandmother never bothered contacting mother or me. The Hawkeye family could find us easily enough, why couldn't grandmother?"

"I don't think she much cared and just used your mother as an excuse for leaving. One society wouldn't look down on. Our marriage was arranged so there was no love in it. With no daughter in the house and a wealthier man with interest in her, your grandmother felt no need to stick around."

Riza's heart ached for him. She'd had no idea of the situations he'd gone through so she made a promise she would find time and have a long talk with him. "I think you're better off without grandmother."

He covered her hand with his. "Oh my dear, there's no doubt about that. The woman nagged me to death about everything from curtains to a piece of fuzz on the carpet. The only thing good she gave me was your mother, and I certainly screwed that up. But I have you now. Even if I do have to work to gain your trust."

"I wish you didn't," she said.

He grinned. "What else do you need to know?"

"What do you know about the Hawkeye family?"

"I know they didn't like your mother because of my military connection. Considering I disowned her, I thought for sure they'd accept her just to upset me with some sort of gossip. The family only cared about what others thought of them. Higher up in society, the richer you were, the better."

"One would think they'd be schmoozing with the military higher ups then," Roy said.

"In that time, the higher societies were segregated unless necessity required a meshing. You had those with ties to the military and those who wanted nothing to do with it. To serve for the people were beneath them. The Hawkeye's chose that side for some reason I don't know."

"Sounds like something out of a gothic romance novel," Riza said.

"It's not far from it," Grumman replied.

"Is it possible they didn't like the military because of Giolladhe?" Roy asked.

"The Hawkeyes' disowned Berthold as well, because of the marriage so maybe it was the case of two outcasts working together."

"If father hated the military then why would he have an interest in mother? Wouldn't the fact you were in the military be a turn off toward her."

Grumman grinned. "You two should know better than anyone that when love is involved, things like that don't matter to the parties in love."

"Is that a reproach?" Riza asked.

Grumman shook his head then leaned forward. "Why are you researching this deep into your past?" Her stomach sank at the twinkle that appeared in his eyes. "Are we going to have a new member of the family soon?"

"Gah, I knew that was coming," Riza said. He'd nagged her with the Grumman subtly; that she should get married and have a baby. A great grandchild for the family. She had aunts and uncles, and they had kids, but Grumman never made contact with them because they'd "sided" with her grandmother. A tiny part of her could understand his longing for more family members. Maybe she'd give him that someday, if things turned out well and she wasn't too old.

"Well? Is it a boy or girl?"

Roy's eyes widened. "Riza?"

"It's too soon to tell if it's a boy or girl," she said, and then covered her mouth at her goof.

"Is what a boy or a girl?" Christmas asked as she walked up to the table.

"My great grandchild!" Grumman bellowed.

Christmas dropped the tray she was carrying. "What! When?" She rushed to Riza. "Are you?"

At least someone had enough sense to actually ask. "No. I can't believe you people would consider such a thing. I'm not irresponsible enough to get pregnant at a time like this. I take my birth control religiously."

She saw Roy slouch in obvious relief. It was surprising how easily he could get riled up when it came to children. She hadn't seen him around any other than Elicia, Ed, Winry, and Al. From what she saw, he'd make a good, if somewhat awkward, father.

"How disappointing," Grumman said, ignoring the irresponsibly part.

"I can't believe you all," Riza muttered. She sighed and returned to the important topic. "Do you know where the Hawkeye family lives? Are they in Central?"

Grumman hesitated. "You aren't going to visit them are you?"

She didn't like the tone he used so it called her to hesitate as well. "If I was?"

"You won't get past their butler."

"Just please Grandfather, give me their location."

"North of the city. Shapiro drive. At least, that's where they used to be."

"Out of curiosity, sir. Why have you kept track of the Hawkeye family?" Roy asked.

"I haven't recently. Before, it was because wanted to find my granddaughter," Grumman said. "If you happened to show up, I would've known you were safe even if you were one of those stuffy assholes. When I found you, I didn't keep track."

"They're in all the society pages as well. I just never thought you two had an interest. So, I never mentioned them," Christmas said as she cleaned the table across from them.

"I had no interest in anything to do with those people and I still don't in a familial way."

Roy grinned. "And we don't read those pages. That's what we have all of your for."

"It's sad when a boy doesn't know the world," Christmas said, letting a laugh slip in to let him know she was joking.

Grumman downed his last sip of tea and looked up at the clock. "I've got to get going. My train for East City is leaving in half an hour." He furrowed his brows and squeezed Riza's hand. "The two of you be careful."

"We will."

They all stood and Grumman patted Roy's shoulder. "If I were tyrannical enough to try to pick my granddaughter's husband, you'd be my first choice," he said.

It was weird being able to walk in public with him, her arm locked with his just like any other couple traveling along the sidewalks. She thought the novelty would've worn off after their first trip out but it never did. She'd walked with other men like this, Edmund had escorted her in such a way, but it wasn't as special as walking with her husband.

"Are you going to go see them?" Roy asked.

"I don't know," she said. "Who's to say they'd see me if I did show up."

"You won't know unless you do. There might be a kind one in the bunch. You could get some of your family back perhaps."

"Father turned down their offer to take me in, his own family, but he allowed me to chat with my grandfather through letters. There's a reason for that. Despite his bad judgments with other things, I trust him on them." Riza squeezed his arm. "I want them for information, not for family."

"Then the only way to get it is to see them."

He was right of course, but she'd relived so much of her past in this year it was hard to grasp the fact she had to deal with more of it face to face. She dealt with Ishbal through flashbacks, through nightmares, but those people were dead. The Hawkeyes were still living. They knew she existed but made no effort to know her other than a single offer to keep her. If they'd had their way, she'd probably be parading around in a ridiculous hat every Saturday at the races as a perfect trophy wife for an unfaithful husband.

She squeezed Roy's arm. "You'll come with me?"

"Yes. When do you want to go?"

"Now. Let's get it over with."


	109. Grandmother

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 109: Grandmother**

**Beta: NommxNomm**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and this fiction is written only as an expression of dedication to this pairing and fandom. It's a non commercial work and not a product of the original owners. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of original characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.**

**Note: Formatting mistakes are because of the site. Not me. **

* * *

If she were being generous in her estimations, she would say that the closest she'd been to the Shapiro district was ten miles. Even in the many missions she had throughout Central, they never involved this zone. Despite this fact, she knew the reputation of the area very well; for people that lived there never ceased to not mention that they resided there. Then they continued to remind you, until you either complimented them on their tastes of residential areas, told them you were military, or belted them in the face with your fist. She hadn't done any of the three for she'd merely overheard their prattling, but she'd seen all three things happen. The latter, being when said prattler said something rude.

It was a wealthy district where fitting in and having the best were life and death issues for the residents. They were anti-military until something happened to them or they needed protection in wartime. Then, they came crying to the government, and after said protection was given, complained that the protection was inferior. When the protection ended, they groused about soldiers not doing their jobs and how unneeded their services were-services they just finished using. There were also instances where they moaned that the government wouldn't provide protection for their get-togethers. Protections that were not only better left for the police or private security companies, but services the military had no business providing in the first place.

So taking in all of that, Riza wasn't surprised that her father's family lived in Shapiro and that she'd never run into anyone associated with the last name Hawkeye. People in this district tended to stay in their little clusters and she had no desire to cluster herself with them for longer than necessary.

She wanted out of this area as soon as she could learn about Giolladhe.

"Shapiro," Roy said, driving her from her thoughts as they walked up the long driveway on Shapiro drive, the namesake of the zone of course. "Isn't that the name of a dog breed?"

"Not that I know of." She wondered if he meant this as a distraction or if he genuinely wanted to know.

"Yes, it is. You know those little wrinkled dogs. They look like folded towels when they're puppies. Shapiro . . . Shapirians."

She laughed aloud. He was serious. She thought a moment and spoke, "Shar-Pei?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"Of all things to think of at a time like this," she said and squeezed his arm. "But I'm grateful."

"Humor is the best medicine." Roy looked around and wrinkled his nose. "And with a horrible neighborhood like this, we need all the humor we can get. I feel like the color is going to be drained right out of me. Clothing and all."

He wasn't wrong in saying that. As their stifling and conforming reputation hinted, everything in the neighborhood was the same. All the houses were the white, two stories, with a garage on the right side. The windows were all the same size and same type. There were square picture windows at the left of the two black doors that led into the homes. The second story of the houses had six smaller windows, likely single pane, with an arched window at the top of each of them. Black shutters framed every window except the bay window at the left side of each home.

The lawns were all trimmed at the same height, with the same puffy bushes flanking the edges of a standard grey and white cobblestone walk that led to the doors. All the houses had a black mailbox the same feet from each end of the driveways.

"It's boring," she said. The beautiful thing about the world was in the differences and tiny imperfections that made life so interesting. It was in the little things that made a person smile, frown, cry, and laugh. "Promise me if we ever buy a house, it won't be in a place like that."

"That's the easiest promise I'll ever give you," he said as they came upon a mailbox with the word Hawkeye painted on it in the same white paint as the rest of them.

"I'm surprised they don't vote on which last name to use so they can all be the same," Roy said, making her chuckle.

They navigated to the end of the paseo and looked up at the house. Riza gripped his hand tighter and steeled her emotions; she had to be professional in this situation.

"Ready?" Roy asked.

"Yes." She pressed the doorbell and as expected, a standard chime sounded. Less than thirty seconds after she pressed it, the door opened. She was expecting a butler or maid, but instead an old woman answered. Her glasses were perched on the end of her nose, her face engraved with old age and her silver hair was piled upon her head in what her father used to call, "the Sunday church bun". She leaned forward and squint her eyes at them for a few seconds before giving a wide, friendly smile.

"How can I help you two?"

"Straight to the point, she's definitely related to you," Roy muttered low enough that she could hear it. She nudged him gently.

"We're sorry for intruding but we're looking for some information," Riza said. Considering the Hawkeyes' view on the military, it was best they not reveal they were officers.

"And what would your names be? You can hardly blame an old woman for refusing information to a stranger."

She nodded. "My name is—"

"Grandmother, you know you shouldn't answer the door with the air as cool as it is—Good heavens you look like my father." The man, who looked to be close to her age, looked like he saw a ghost.

The woman turned from looking at her relative to looking at Riza and she adjusted the glasses on her nose. "Well, well, you do look like my son Leonard." Leonard. . . Yet another name she'd never heard from her father.

"I am a relative Ma'am."

"We'll you can be going then," the young man said. "We know you're lying since we know all the relatives in—"

"Berthold." The old woman shakily grabbed Riza's upper arm, and took a step out of the door and into the cold.

"You're Elizabeth."

"Riza," she said.

"Grandmother?"

"She's Berthold's daughter," the old woman said, looking at her grandson briefly before redirecting her gaze. "My granddaughter. Oh and she's so pretty," she said.

Riza felt her cheeks grow warm at both the compliment and the genuine affection she could hear in the woman's voice.

"She is isn't she?" Roy said.

"Come in, both of you," she said.

"Grandmother, is that wise?" the young man said. "Father will be home soon."

"I don't care. I paid for this house, not him. As I recall the business belonged to me as well, not him." Her sternness melted away when she looked at Riza once again and stepped out of the way. "Please come in."

Riza and Roy both entered the house and followed the old woman to a living room. "Timothy, please go to the kitchen and tell Martin to bring out some tea. Tell him we have two guests here."

The young man left the room without argument; apparently, the fact that his grandmother trusted them was enough for him to feel secure. Riza knew the protection instinct well and knew that was all the young man wanted to do.

"Well, now let me introduce myself. I'm sure your father never talked about me correct?"

"That's right, he told me of your existence but nothing other than that." It was partly true. He spoke ill of the Hawkeye family as a whole but never directly mentioned her grandmother amongst his dislike in the few times he talked about his family.

She extended her hand to her. "My name is Elladora Hawkeye. Or grandmother if you prefer that."

Riza didn't. She couldn't call a woman grandmother when she did not intend to see the lady ever again after this meeting. "I'm Riza . . . Mustang." She felt Roy shift slightly when she said it. She knew not out of discomfort but more surprise. It was the first time she'd been able to introduce herself as such aloud.

Elladora looked to Roy and he extended his gloved hand to the woman, thankfully not his alchemy gloves, and shook her hand. "I'm Roy."

The woman seemingly checked Roy out, reminded Riza of the way the farmers from her hometown checked horses. She half expected the woman to open Roy's mouth and check his teeth. She gave Riza a sly grin when she pulled away from the handshake.

She motioned to Roy with her head. "You got yourself a charming, handsome one here. The Hawkeye women always had good taste in men." She gave a rough chuckle. "Though they say I was the exception." Riza felt something odd with her words and within a few seconds, a realization hit her. Hawkeye women? This woman, and any other women that married into the family, wouldn't be Hawkeyes. This woman spoke as if she was a Hawkeye by blood. But that couldn't be could it? And wouldn't she go with her family if her grandfather had died?

She didn't say anything due to an older man bringing in a tray with tea and cakes. She poured Riza and Roy cups before dealing with her grandson's and then her own. "Thank you Martin, you may go," she said to the man that brought in the tray.

"Yes, Ma'am," he said and left the room. Riza noted that he moved to close the doors to the right before going back over the left and leaving through those. The woman was being discreet about this meeting.

"Now," she said, "what kind of information did you need from me?"

"Recently I came across some documents with the name Giolladhe Hawkeye in them, and my search for more information led me here." Riza lied. She had no clue if the family here had any idea about this particular Hawkeye . . . until she saw Elladora and Timothy's posture tense.

"He hasn't been around the family in thirty years. Died in a military accident the last...last I heard," Elladora said. Her teacup hit against the saucer she had in her hand as she brought the cup up to her lips. "I don't know anything about his life after he left."

She was lying. The woman knew more than she was letting on. It drove Riza crazy since she was so close to knowing more.

"I see."

"Can . . . can you tell me what kind of document you saw him in?"

Riza opened her mouth to speak but the doors to the study slid open, the wood shaking on their brass hinges. People had the worst habits of interrupting when she needed to talk. "Get out..."

Riza grabbed onto Roy's hand at the man standing in the door. Identical to her father in appearance except the hair. His hair was cropped short; her father's always hung stringy. Oh, and the clothing. Her father never bothered to dress as immaculately as this guy.

"Didn't you hear what I said?"

Riza placed the cup down, as did Roy and they both stood. "Leonard! Settle down. Where are your manners? They are guests and family. Don't be such a hot tempered grouse," Elladora said.

The man looked stunned for just a moment. His eyes fell to Riza. "She's a Hawkeye?"

"Berthold's daughter."

"We'll be going now Ma'am. Thank you for the tea and what you could tell us," Riza said. This man was as hot tempered as her father had been, and she never wanted to deal with such a temper ever again. If she tried, she might be tempted to beat the guy as an outlet for all the pent up anger she carried for her father.

"No you most certainly won't let him run you off."

"Do you know who he is?" the man asked, pointing to Roy.

"Yes, Roy Mustang."

"Flame alchemist! He's one of those dogs."

"Ah, so that's where I've heard the name Mustang before. She looked at Roy."I know the reputation, but I've seen the way you are with my own eyes. You're welcome here."

"Mother, I don't want them in my home."

"And since when is this your home? Last I checked, I paid this place off with work I did for the company. Settle yourself."

"What will the rest of the neighbors think?"

"The only one that cares about those stick up the ass neighbors is your . . . third wife I believe? I forget what number you're on right now."

Riza almost had to hide a laugh. This woman would get along with her grandfather if they could ever meet. "It's all right Ma'am. We have to be leaving. It was a pleasure to meet you," she said, half truthfully.

Elladora and Timothy both stood as they walked to the door. "And how is your father dear? Please tell him to contact us. Maybe we can finally settle all this ridiculous separation issues now." Roy and Riza turned toward her, bewildered.

"I. . . I thought you knew Ma'am," Riza said.

Elladora took a few steps toward her. "Knew what?"

"My father, he died."

Elladora placed her hand on the table beside her to steady herself and she looked at Leonard.

"You knew?"

He shook his head. "How long ago?"

"Ten years," Roy said.

"We had no idea. We hadn't talked to Berthold since the estrangement."

"That's a lie," Riza snapped. "You called. He said you offered to take me in since my mother was dead."

"Your mother is dead as well?" Elladora asked.

Riza stared at the woman, the cluelessness on her face unmistakable.

"You didn't call?"

She shook her head.

"He said you did," she replied. "If it wasn't you then who was it."

"Perhaps, he was just trying to make you feel better," Elladora said.

Roy almost laughed in the woman's face. "I doubt it."

The room remained quiet from the tension brought on by unknown events by both sides. She just wanted to go crawl into bed and forget this day ever happened.

"Please leave," Leonard said. "You don't have a family here Missus Mustang," he said. As if the face wasn't close enough to her father's, his voice held the same coldness her father had directed at her. She never wanted that kind of tone in her presence again. Her memories flashed before her. _Breathe Riza. You have to stay calm. Don't let them see you're afraid._

"Thank you for your time." She felt herself starting to shake and turned toward the door. She paused. "And just so you know, I didn't come here with the intention of finding family," she said when she opened the door. "I have a family." She squeezed Roy's hand before they left through the door.

**-/-/-**

"Goddamn it he's too much like my father," Riza said as they walked at a fast pace away from the house. The only thing she could think of was how much she wanted away from him. She didn't think she'd react that way when faced with the prospect of encountering anything related to her father, but a nearly identical twin had never been even in the list of possibilities in her mind.

Roy stopped and she jerked forward. She turned around and looked down to see that Roy had grabbed her arm tighter and had stopped. "Slow down, we won't go back there."

She settled down when she felt his calmness overwhelm her. Roy had such a wonderful aura when he needed to.

"I carried a hate in me that I didn't realize I had."

"Are you sure it was hate? You seemed more fearful of him," he said.

She shook her head. "No it wasn—"

"No lying," he prompted.

Riza swallowed the saliva that had formed in her mouth. "He had a tone like that, a look like that when he put the tattoo on me."

This time it was Roy's turn to tense. He'd made his anger toward her father no secret. If he'd been there, if he'd known what her father had done, he would've probably beaten the man to death. But she hadn't fully given him the details as to what exactly her father had done during that time and it was something she'd keep to herself until the right time—whenever the hell that came. In the past, she lied to him when her nightmares haunted her. She said it was flashbacks of Ishbal, and a good majority of them were, but the most horrible dreams came the memory of when her tattoo was burned onto her.

Those dreams faded long ago, but she was afraid that after today her father's voice from that night would haunt her again when she was finally able to sleep peacefully in her husband's arms with no nightmares.

He surprised her when he pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry. You don't have to go see them again. It's over." She grinned and took a moment to snuggle against his chest. She wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a quick squeeze before pulling away.

"This visit was more stress than use to us. We're still at square one," she said as they began walking. She was relieved when they left the neighborhood. "Want to take a taxi home instead of walk?"

"Yes, I don't think—"

A car horn tore through their conversation and they turned toward a car driving toward them. It stopped and the driver's side window rolled down. "Hey," Timothy asked. "Wish you hadn't left so quickly, grandmother wanted to talk to you a bit more when dad left the room. He would've warmed to you."

Riza sighed. "Look, I…"

"Please get in, it's important. I'll give you a ride out of the district."

"Sorry I don't trust you that much," he said.

"Oh, come on. You can just shoot me full of holes and Mustang there can set me on fire if I do anything. You're more than free to check the car before you get in if you feel it necessary."

Riza pursed her lips but nodded.

He drove them to the edge of the district and parked the car in the lot of a restaurant crowded with cars of the same color.

Timothy turned around in his seat and handed her a piece of paper. "Tomorrow evening at eight, go to this café." She must have looked skeptical because he reassured her. "You'll want the information she has. I believe she would've given it to you right there if father hadn't been present."

Riza opened the paper and looked down at the address and back up at Roy. "What do you think?"

"Whatever you want," he replied.

"Okay, we'll meet her there," she said. "But if I see your father or anyone else with her, I'm turning around and leaving."

"It will just be her and me." His expression turned serious. "I promise on my very life that there's no deception in this meeting. It's important information regarding our grandfather."

"Any reason why I should believe that?" Riza asked even though she did.

"I can't think of one off handed other than we're family, but my guess is that isn't good enough."

"You're right, it's not good enough, but it will have to do." She held up the paper between her two fingers. "We'll meet you there tomorrow."

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**AN: For some reason this site would not format this chapter properly. I had to stick it in Omni writer (I highly recommend this program if you are easily distracted. It's free) then copy it in wordpad, then put it in word and then upload it on here to even get it looking remotely decent. I'm fast at work on the next chapter and I hope you enjoyed this one. Please leave a comment if you have the time. If not, I'll see you next chapter. XD **


	110. Kin of Yesteryear

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Beta: NommxNomm**

**Chapter 110: Kin of Yesteryear**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and this fiction is written only as an expression of dedication to this pairing and fandom. It's a non-commercial work and not a product of the original owners. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of original characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.**

* * *

Riza figured the place where they were supposed to meet Elladora and Timothy would be like this. A restaurant complete with reservation requirements, haughty waiters, and fancy dresses and suits. Thankfully, she'd had the foresight to predict it, and that was why she stood in the doorway wearing a sparkly red dress she'd bought on a whim and four-inch heels that made her feet ache but had the ability to make Roy drool.

After her day at work, she needed to relax. A swank place like this wasn't conducive to anything resembling repose. If she had to go out, give her an old fashion pub with home cooking over any of this fancy cuisine; otherwise, she'd prefer to stay in with a good book and a glass of, what had become since Roy moved back in, whiskey.

"How may I help you?" the maitre d' asked as he approached.

"We're supposed to meet Elladora Hawkeye here," Roy said. Before they left, Riza had told Roy to take the lead since she was unfamiliar with places like this. He'd taken many a date to these types of restaurants and didn't enjoy it much either. When he came home the first thing he did was go to the kitchen and eat whatever leftover Riza had kept from dinner. He once called it comfort.

"You are Mister and Missus M correct?" the man said.

Riza admired that the woman was intelligent enough not to use their real names.

"That's right," Roy said.

"Madam Elladora called and asked me to go ahead and show you to the table and take your orders. She said she would be a bit late due to family matters. Please follow me."

Riza and Roy followed him around the corner to a four-person table against a back wall, away from the windows but close enough for it not to appear they were trying to have a clandestine meeting.

The maitre d' pulled Riza's chair out for her and scooted it in before smiling and handing them their menus. "Your waiter will be with you shortly."

"Thank you," Riza said. When the maitre d left them, she looked over at Roy and begrudged the fact he looked so comfortable in this place. "If I were on a mission pretending, I'd be more at ease," she said.

He looked up from the menu, clearly puzzled by her words.

She shifted in her seat. "How are you so at ease in places like this?"

"I'm used to it," he said. "You just have to pretend you're better than everyone else in the room."

He gave her a comforting smile.

"I see," she said. Roy was always so confident in almost everything he did. Unless it was guns, her doubts pelted her constantly, either through something as vain as her looks or something as serious as being good enough in what she did. A therapist would likely tell her that it stemmed from not being good enough for her father. In other words, she had daddy issues. They probably wouldn't be wrong.

Thankfully, a waiter interrupted her ill-timed and ill-placed self-analysis. "Have you decided on your order?"

Riza looked at the menu, speed-reading for something that sounded pleasant. "I'll have the Cornish hen with red potatoes and salad," Riza said only because it was the food she was the most familiar with.

"And you, Sir?"

"Pan seared duck over brown rice and vegetables," he said.

"And to drink?"

"Iced tea please," Riza said.

"I'll have the same," Roy said.

When the waiter went off to place their orders, Roy reached over for her hand and squeezed it.

"You're so uncomfortable. I feel bad."

"Why?"

"I've never taken you to places like this."

"You've never taken me out to dinner at all. Well, except if it was for a mission, but that doesn't count."

"I should remedy that now that I can take you out without worry. Maybe start with something more like a casual sit down restaurant."

"I've been to a sit down restaurant. Edmund took me to one for dinner."

"Yes, unfortunately I'll never forget that," Roy muttered. "That was the night he kissed you."

She nodded even though it wasn't a question.

"He took you to the theatre first and a restaurant before I did. Tell me, what else did he do first?"

"He was the first guy I worked with during a shootout," she said and squeezed his hand. "Don't be jealous."

"I'm not jealous." A grin slowly formed on his lips. "No, he can have those firsts. I got the best one."

He lifted the glass to his lips knowingly. She immediately realized what he meant. "Don't take pride in something like that."

"You can't ask a man not to Riza."

As embarrassing as it was, she supposed he was right. Men were just possessive and primal by nature.

"I'm so sorry we're late," Elladora said when she and Timothy approached the table. "Leonard took his own damn time to get to his meeting."

Timothy helped Elladora with her seat before taking a seat across from her. "Do you need me to call a waiter for you, Ma'am?" Roy asked.

"No, no need. They're going to bring our order out with yours." She took her napkin and sat it on her lap. "Let's get straight to business that way we can enjoy the food in peace. You wanted to know about Giolladhe."

"That's right. Why did you break up? Did he and my father leave the family together?"

"Your father left before Gil left. Gil was pretty damn upset at your father for falling for a woman who was tied to the military."

"So why is he...? The documents we found him in were military documents."

"I got sick. They thought I was as good as dead. He left saying that he could help me somehow."

Roy shot Riza a look. Things were starting to make sense.

"Then I found out that the accident happened and he was killed. We never broke up, I was widowed."

"Did your documents mention how he died?" Timothy asked. "I didn't know much about our grandfather either, only met him once when I was a child."

"All it said was the name Giolladhe Hawkeye," she said. "But Leonard said that he wasn't a Hawkeye. Is that right?"

"Giolladhe took my last name to avoid his family."

"What was Gillodahe's last name? His real one," Roy asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know. He was adamant that I not know it. Said it brought bad memories. If I had it to do over again, I would've been more insistent he tell me." She looked down at her lap. "I was hoping you found him alive."

"But you said he died in a military accident."

"Or so they say," she said. "I can't be convinced that anything the military says is true."

"And why didn't your son want us to know this information?"

"Because you're military. My son hasn't had it easy you understand. His twin brother leaves the family for a woman whose family is tied with military. Then his father leaves to work in the military, and my family disowns him. I had to stay in the family for Leonard's sake even though I didn't share the same hate toward the military."

"But why did your family hate the military before?"

"Tell me, you ever wonder why your father seems to be the only alchemist in the family?"

Riza shook her head. "I had no way of knowing."

"That's because he wasn't. You're familiar with the Aerugo invasion?"

"Yes," Riza said.

The events of that invasion had been drilled in her head during academy.

"The Hawkeye family dedicated ourselves to the war effort. We were told it was defensive, but as you know, it wasn't. Many of our male family members died during that time, and that's why there are so few of us that hold the Hawkeye name. It's the reason I made sure my sons kept that name, and why my family was willing to let Giolladhe take it without too many questions. A preservation of legacy. That was important to my father."

"So you hate the military initially because they lied. How did you meet Giolladhe?"

"He was a soldier my brother met before he was killed. I was introduced to him on leave."

Riza's eyes widened.

"After Gil was discharged he vowed against all things military. When he broke that vow, the family disowned him. Your father left a year before Gil, saying it wasn't right to judge your mother for being related to someone military." She grinned. "Your dad was quite a smart mouth, impulsive young man. He vowed to learn more about alchemy and show us it wasn't bad just because of what happened to us."

It shocked her to know that her father had been similar to Roy. Perhaps that was why he was so passionately against Roy's idealistic goals.

"That definitely doesn't sound like Master Hawkeye," Roy said.

The group stayed quiet when the server arrived at their table with their dinner. When the waiter left, they continued their conversation.

"Do you know if my father and Giolladhe ever reunited? Did they ever work together for the military?" Riza knew the answer already, but felt if she said anything regarding the joining, the woman wouldn't be forthcoming.

"I couldn't tell you. I know Leonard ran into your father here in the late 1880's. He tried to talk to him, but your father seemed distraught and angry."

Riza glanced at Roy who was looking at her with concern. She felt his hand squeeze her knee before returning to dig into his meal.

"That's all I know dear, but I thought you seemed to need this information rather than want. My son doesn't want me helping the military, but I see it as helping a relative."

"I appreciate it," Riza said.

"And what about you two? Married and military? How did that happen?"

Riza wasn't sure what to say to that. Despite this woman being upfront with what she knew, she didn't feel comfortable making casual talk with her.

"Illegally," Roy stated simply. "Surprised you didn't read about it in the papers."

"Oh I don't bother with the papers. An old woman like me can't afford to worry about recent events other than oncoming doctor visits."

"You remind me of my grandfather," Riza said.

Elladora looked at them. "You're in contact with him?" She looked a bit put out by the very suggestion that the two were on speaking terms.

"That's not surprising Grandmother," Timothy said. "He is a general."

"If it weren't for my grandfather," Riza said, letting a bit more anger than intended into her voice, "I wouldn't have been able to afford to live."

Even though she didn't fully trust her grandfather either - he had disowned her mother after all- she trusted him more than the Hawkeyes. At least he understood where she was coming from, from a military point of view.

"I would've offered to take you in but—"

"Would've doesn't matter," she said. "You didn't as much as try." This time she spoke calmly.

"Speaking of that," Roy said. "Just exactly who contacted your father Riza, if they didn't?"

"Hey, that's right. Grandmother are you sure the family never offered to take her in?"

"I'm absolutely sure. There was no talk whatsoever about it. I knew she was born and that I thought her name was Elizabeth, but that is all. I didn't even have contact information."

"So her father was lying to make her feel better."

"Not going to happen!" Roy and Riza said at the same time.

When Timothy and Elladora looked strangely at them, Riza elaborated. "My father didn't care about anyone's feelings, especially not mine."

"Oh I'm sure that's not true, Berthold was always a loving, kind boy. He would've been overjoyed at having a daughter."

Neither Riza nor Roy had the heart, nor the trust, to reveal to the old woman what her kind, loving son turned into after his wife's death. Riza wished she saw that loving side of her father at least once. From the way her grandfather described her mother, Riza reasoned that a woman such as her would never fall for a man that was cruel.

Her father had tanked in personality after her mother's death from what she'd heard. When she was old enough to read well, and he found out she couldn't do alchemy, he'd started locking himself away, only coming out to cook once in awhile or do some other small thing she couldn't do on her own.

She remembered attaining the ability to differentiate from the types of onions and tomatoes just by taste alone because that's all she could find when he forgot to cook or buy food. That was until she was old enough to work small jobs and actually cook. Until Roy showed up, her budget was sparse. The income brought in from her father teaching Roy helped substantially.

"If… if you two were to quit, you could become part of the family. Maybe you can knock some sense into Leonard."

"We have things we have to do," Riza said. "I don't think we'll ever quit."

And if that meant not being part of the Hawkeyes, then so be it. She hadn't set out to do that anyway. There'd be no disappointment in her life because she'd never grown up knowing what they were like and from her experiences, they weren't the type of people she wanted to associate with. Well, she might like to get to know Elladora and Timothy after a long while of getting used to them, but it wasn't going to happen so she wouldn't ponder it.

Elladora took the large purse off the chair beside her and dug around. In a few moments, she produced a card and handed it to Riza. "If I discover more, I will let you know. I ask if you learn more about Gil, you'll do the same."

Riza knew what it was like to be kept in the dark, so she agreed. She watched as Roy took out his pen and notebook. He scribbled into it, tore out a sheet of paper and handed it to Elladora. "If I discover something new, I'll tell you if I'm allowed." That was the best she could do. God only knows what would happen down the line and she didn't want to get anyone hurt in the process.

"And if it doesn't jeopardize whatever you're trying to do."

Riza must've showed her surprise because Elladora said, "Dear, I'm an old woman and seen many people in my lifetime doing many things. You don't think I'd be foolish enough not to know that there's far more than a personal interest in this."

"I suppose not."

"But you won't tell us what it is?" Timothy asked.

Elladora scolded him. "Hush." She laughed at Riza. "Always been too curious for his own good."

"I've found that the case of curiosity killed the cat can sometimes be true," Roy said.

"That's not a threat by the way."

She hoped Elladora understood that what they were doing had potential danger to it. The woman seemed smart enough to get it.

Elladora nodded; seemingly satisfied with the information she gave. While the woman did help quite a bit, she also put more questions in their head.

* * *

**AN: Thank you to the readers that sent me so many hilarious get well ecards. It was really really nice that you took the time to send me some. I love ecards.**

**As for lack of updates. I had an illness for a while (flu type-ish but turned out it wasn't the flu but I won't go into details). We thought I was getting better but I relapsed with a different virus (that's the best way I can describe it). Put on bed rest after leaving the hospital so I updated stuff I had done and spent most of my time doing a little betaing, facebooking more than I normally do, and writing horrible rough drafts of dialogue. Thank you for being so patient for updates and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	111. Where Homunculi Won't Follow

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 111: Where Homunculi Won't Follow **

**Beta: NommxNomm**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and this fiction is written only as an expression of dedication to this pairing and fandom. It's a noncommercial work and not a product of the original owners. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of original characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.**

* * *

"Doing okay?" Roy asked as they walked home from the restaurant. Night had just settled into the time frame where everyone either goes home and stays in for the night or starts heading out to the more nightlife heavy districts. It irked him. If they'd been on a mission or in a hurry to get somewhere, some sort of celebration or a traffic accident would have the streets jammed and make navigation nearly impossible.

"I'm not sure," she said. "I feel light because some questions have been answered, but now I'm even more curious about the unanswered ones."

"Your tat…back?" Even though he was certain that no one was within earshot, he wasn't going to take chances.

"Yes and why father came here to work with the military when he was so dead set against it, and about the people who called. You know my father would never just tell me someone called to try to make me feel better. That woman is ignorant when it comes to him." She sighed. "I supposed it's typical that mother's want to see the good in their sons as well."

Roy bit the inside of his lip as his mind raged with theories that made his stomach lurch.

"Riza," he began, unsure how to broach the topic with her. Not because he didn't know how she'd take it, but because the thought was so terrifying for him that it was hard to deal with. "Giolladhe left to work with the military while Elladora was sick. Your father left when your mother was ill..."

When he felt her tense, he pulled her tighter against him.

"He left after mother was sick as well and they were researching the philosopher's stone." She moved closer to him. "Do you think he was going to try to cure mother when she was sick? Or bring her back after she died?"

"I do, yes."

Master Hawkeye knew of course the taboo of bringing someone back from the dead. He'd drilled that into Roy's head from the moment that he stepped into that dank and musty library to study alchemy.

"Grief can make a person do things they wouldn't normally consider. But my main concern is why he put that tattoo on you. He had to have known about the homunculi since it detects them. I can't help but be worried that they might know about it."

"Since it's a secret to your alchemy, it can be used against you."

"They already have the most important thing to me under their finger. It wouldn't do them any good to use the alchemy thing now."

Roy was surprised when she looked at him with an astonished expression. "You don't seriously think my alchemy is most important? I'd give it up in a heartbeat if it meant keeping you safe."

"I know that," she said.

"Do you?"

She nodded. "I was surprised because it's the first time someone has ever put me above alchemy. I even thought that…"

Roy stopped and turned her to face him. He was angry at first, but the anger faded when he saw her face.

How much of his woman did he still not know?

He knew so little of what brewed within the darker sides of her mind. Riza was the strongest person he'd ever known, yet she was more vulnerable than anyone he'd ever known. She tried to get him to release all his remorse regarding Ishbal, all the pain stacked up from being given up—no, discarded like trash, by his parents. She hacked at his walls bit by bit and he never thought that he should be doing the same. He always told her to come to him with anything but rarely made the effort to dig deeper into her mind.

"Never. You hear me?" he said. "Alchemy is good because I can protect people with it. Protect you with it. The best thing that ever came out of getting Flame Alchemy was marrying you."

"I didn't mean to get you up—" She grit her teeth and Roy guided her to begin walking.

"Homunculus," she said after they walked a few feet.

"Can you pinpoint where?"

She shook her head and swallowed. After a minute, she said, "All I can say is that it's pretty damn close."

"You're doing better with the pains," he said.

He could barely hear her voice over the sound of their footsteps when she said, "Ling taught me how to get over the nausea and some of the pain. A sort of conscious meditation. It's as if one doesn't focus too much on the pain, it's not their type of thinking. When I get home, I do actual meditating."

"So that's why you go into the bedroom for an hour at night and lock the door."

She nodded. "What'd you think I was doing by myself in . . . Wait, don't answer that."

He laughed. He actually hadn't thought of that. _But now you'll think of that whenever she goes there and that will make you uncomfortable for an hour every night. _

"I thought you were reading."

She arched an eyebrow. "I can read in front of you."

"Remember the last time you tried to read that vampire story in front of me? Sundark?"

That book was one of the most ridiculous things he'd ever read (he'd only read a chapter of the monstrosity) and Riza couldn't even pinpoint why she liked it.

"You still won't let me finish it."

"He sparkles Riza."

She shrugged. "Artistic license." When they stopped talking she reached for her lower back. "Keep talking. It's distracting."

"I shall regale you with the reasons you should burn that damn book."

She shook her head. "Distract me some other way, and I'm not burning my books. I won't burn any book."

"What? Books? Plural? You bought more than one copy of that thing?"

"It's a series."

"Maybe I should let the homunculi do whatever they want to this country if that thing spawned more than one book."

"You know you don't mean that. I think I'll read that book when I get home since you're being so unreasonable. I had other plans that you would've enjoyed immen—" She twitched slightly, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Oh? Other plans you say," he made sure to punctuate the end of his sentence with a perverted tone. "Well, I could distract you with those plans already if we weren't on the sidewalk."

"You want me to take a bubble bath on the sidewalk?" He saw her hide a smile but it quickly died. "He's closer."

"Let's head through the alley," he said and guided her to it. "There's a shop ahead. We should go in there." He saw a sign above the door that said, Tracie's Hideout. When he guided her to it, he noticed her hesitate at the door. "Is the homunculus in there?"

"No."

"Then hurry and get inside."

She cringed but did as he said. When he closed the door behind him, he saw why Riza was so hesitant to enter. The walls and shelves around them were adorned with various types of sexual devices, handcuffs, costumes, and whips. This shop was a plethora of items for sado masochistic enjoyment.

"This is a sex shop," Roy said. He grinned and picked up a pair of black handcuffs from the shelf beside him. "Hey, Riza." Her face filled with mortification. Considering some of the things they did, he couldn't fathom why she'd be in such a state. "These look familiar don't they?"

Riza kept her focus anywhere except on him. "Let's just get out of here," she said before biting her bottom lip and doing a quick sweep of the shop with her eyes.

"Hey, take a look at that. It's a nurse's costume." He walked further into the store and made sure to keep a tight hold on her hand.

"Roy, this …"

"If nurses wore these in hospitals men would be getting hurt on purpose," he said and reached up to touch the costume.

She kept her face directed down at the ground but there was no blush on her cheeks.

While they were here, there was no reason he couldn't tease her to get her thoughts further away from the creature stalking them. "You wouldn't wear—"

Her gaze when to his face. "No."

He shrugged. "It was worth asking." He moved it on the rack to reveal a cop outfit. _That would go good with the handcuffs._ "How about this one? It—"

"I think the homunculus is gone. We can go—"

"Riza darling, it's been a long time."

A tall, makeup-drenched drag queen approached. So this person knew Riza, which meant that she'd been here.

"Riza?" he questioned as he tried to keep laughter from bubbling to the surface.

She walked up to them, stopped, cocked a hip to the right and placed a pink-nailed hand upon it. Roy tensed when the queen trailed her gaze from his feet up to the top of his head. "So this is your lover boy?" When she leaned forward winked at him, he gave an uneasy smile her way. "Enjoy the handcuffs?"

"Hell ye—"

"Roy, this is Tracie. Tracie, Roy," Riza said.

Roy forgot his unease immediately. "So this is where you got those handcuffs. I knew those things were familiar." He grinned at Tracie. "I appreciate you selling those to her." He looked back at Riza. "How'd you know about this place?"

"Rebecca."

Roy made a mental note to do something nice for the harpy.

"Riza was so shy about coming in here. Blushing like a virgin. Her friend Rebecca was very open and interested in the products, especially the Drachma maid costume, but said she'd have to find a willing man first."

"Ah," Roy said. That was more information than he ever wanted to know about Rebecca.

"Riza here was quite taken with more of the miniskirts and leather whi—"

"We have someone after us, do you have a concealed back exit?"

_Damn it! Why'd she have to interrupt the queen?_

"Oh, yes of course."

She guided them to a back room and Riza's face turned a deeper red when they saw this was where they stored the more . . . _steamy_ . . . outfits. "You have a fascinating shop," Roy said.

"Why thank you, honey. Come by anytime with Riza here and I'll give you a good discount."

"We might have to do that."

The queen opened the back door and Riza focused on her back. The pain had disappeared, and she suspected it would've regardless of the path taken. They didn't have to go through that shop and throw her into severe levels of embarrassment.

"Thanks again Tracie," Roy said with a little salute of his hand.

"No problem, please come again . . . _and again_ . . . _and again_."

Roy laughed at the innuendo and guided Riza onto the street. "Do you feel the ho—"

"We are not going back there." She folded her arms and moved out of his embrace. When she started walking, Roy hurried to catch up.

"Why not? You went with Rebecca. You bought the handcuffs there and… Hey, I bet you got the feather there in the same trip."

Riza slouched. "That was the second trip," she muttered.

Roy's eyes widened. "You've been there more than once?"

"Yes, Rebecca goes there every time she's in town. Tracie is a friend of hers."

Roy raised a hand to his chin and grinned. "I bet she has connections."

He wrapped an arm around her waist. "So, Tracie said you had an interest in the miniskirt and whip. I'm more than willing to pay the bill if you want to buy them." He looked over his shoulder at the way they came. "We can even go back and get them now."

"Eyes facing forward Roy or you'll run into a lamppost. Besides, I wanted the whip to make you do your paperwork."

He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "I bet if I'm a bad boy at home you'll..." He trailed off when she glared at him. "It was just a thought. We won't go back. I was kidding of course." Except he wasn't.

"Good."

She stopped walking and adjusted her purse on her shoulder.

"Oh, and I already know a place where I can get them cheaper and anonymously delivered by mail."

She winked at him and started walking once again, leaving Roy dumbfounded and with "Little Roy" eager to go.

* * *

**AN: A little comic interlude (for lack of a better word) before seriousness kicks in. Next chapter is complete, rather long, and I'll be sending it to my beta soon.**


	112. Flower Punch

**Best Kept Secret**

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Beta: Nommy**

**Chapter 112: Flower Punch**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and this fiction is written only as an expression of dedication to this pairing and fandom. It's a noncommercial work and not a product of the original owners. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.**

* * *

Roy parked his car on the side of the street and after turning off the motor, turned in his seat. His sister Adrian, who was looking in her compact and putting on makeup, hadn't noticed the vehicle stopped. "Didn't you coat your face in that gook when you first got in the car?"

She checked the sides of her face before snapping the compact shut and raising her chin slightly. "It's not gook. It's a feature accentuator."

"Whatever you say," he said. He didn't understand why naturally beautiful women bothered with the stuff. Even Riza wore it and she was stunning without it.

"You men don't understand or appreciate what we women do to look good. All you have to do to look nice is put on a suit, and then throw gel in your hair, and slick it back."

"I look like an eagle when my hair is slicked back."

She grumbled and shoved her compact in her purse. "Now you're just being difficult."

"So, what kind of information do you have for me?"

She folded her arms across her chest. "I don't think I'm going to give it to you now."

"If you don't you won't get the money," he said. She stared at him, stubbornness still etched in her features. "Which means your income will be halved and you'll have to go without new clothi—" Roy knew that type of threat would be enough to make her talk.

"My friend up north at Briggs is a nurse." She removed a piece of paper from her purse. "I wrote down what she told me so I wouldn't forget. Let me see…" She flipped through several pages.

Roy smiled at his victory but then realized what she said. "You wrote it down. Do you realize how dangerous that is?"

"Cool off fire-eater. Ah, here it is." She showed him the page filled with a list of names.

"They're clothing brands." She grinned. "You aren't the only one that has a code."

"Just tell me what it says, Adrian."

"Fine." She focused on the papers. "A man named Kimbley. Ugh. I remember that guy. The bastard dropped by for a drink once. Thinks he's god's gift to women. Anyway, he came into the infirmary at Briggs with internal injuries and several broken bones."

_Good._ Roy couldn't have a worse opinion of Kimbley. He'd been the only human being to ever draw a fearful look from Riza. "How is he now?"

"She said that he made a full recovery after just a day. Right after General Raven came to see him. God, Raven is another asshole that thought we were hookers. I'll tell you one thing. If I were a hooker I would certainly charge more than—

"Adrian." Roy sighed." What else?"

"Well my friend says that he's making Olivier Armstrong uneasy and that in turn is making everyone up north rather uneasy."

Roy took some sort of sick pleasure out of Olivier Armstrong being bothered, but at the same time if she was bothered he felt uneasy at the reasons for it. "I see."

"That's all I could get you this week. Sorry."

He reached into his jacket and took out an envelope full of money. "You did well. The information about Raven and Kimbley's recovery will come in han—"

_Recovery?_ _The mysteries of the past few days began to sew themselves together like a patch quilt._ He'd have to tell Riza. Adrian's info did far more than just give information on Kimbley and Raven.

"Roy, are you okay?" He felt Adrian shake his shoulder and focused on her.

"Oh, yes. Here."

She took the envelope, opened it, and her face flew into a joyous expression. "This is way more than usual."

"Now you can pay tuition for that ballet school, right?"

Tears came to her eyes and she threw her arms around his neck. "Roy, you're the best brother in the world."

"Yeah, yeah." He pulled away and faced the steering wheel. "You need a ride anywhere?"

"No, I'm going to meet some friends here."

He got out of the car and opened the door for her. "See you later, Roy," she said and rushed down the sidewalk. He watched her until she went around corner where he knew the ballet school was located.

"It's amazing how girls these days walk in such shoes. They weren't nearly as high when I was younger."

Roy looked toward the voice, and saw it belonged to a woman looking in the direction his sister went. She pushed her flower cart down the sidewalk and stopped next to him. "You're Roy Mustang right? I heard about you and your wife in the papers."

"Hasn't everyone?" Roy said, trying not to sound unpleasant. The fuehrer only ran that in the papers to make himself appear benevolent and tolerant and to create enmity for he and Riza as a couple. The laugh was on Bradley in the latter part because they'd received more support than antagonism. Granted it was secret support since they had to make Bradley believe people were angry.

He was happy they didn't have to hide their relationship anymore. Roy still found it odd that Bradley cared about appearing benevolent when people wouldn't have expected him to be, or even think it a big deal if he hadn't been. Bradley would benefit more by pulling them apart in all ways, yet he chose not to.

"Your wife wouldn't be happy to see that girl leaving your car." Roy held back from telling her to mind her own business. "It wouldn't hurt to buy her some flowers just in case."

"She isn't much of a flower person."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

"Positive?"

_Damn this woman was pushy._ "Yes, she told me herself."

She moved closer. "We women sometimes say things we don't mean just to test you men."

_She must really need to sell flowers. _"The girl is a distant relative; my wife knows I was speaking to her here."

The old woman leaned over her cart handle and showed a toothy grin. "You have another distance associate that is sending you a message. From the North. Briggs to be more specific."

He smirked. "I want to know everything you know."

"Buy some flowers for your wife?"

"Ma'am, if you give me the information I want, I'll buy all the flowers you have." He realized he might spend more than he had on him if she had more flowers somewhere else. "All the flowers in your cart that is." He leaned back against his car door and folded his arms across his chest. "Tell me."

"The violence in the north is starting to rival that in the southern region," she said as she put the first bouquet in the back of his car.

Roy cringed. One of the worries he had for Fuery was that he was going to be working in a war zone. Of all the men, Fuery had the least combat experience. It was likely an intentional action by Bradley to put one of his men out of commission permanently. But he had faith in the young man to survive.

_But you never thought Maes would be killed either. You had faith in him._

He pushed his best friend out of his mind and locked up his hatred regarding his murderer before it took over him. "And here I thought Olivier was having an easy time of it." The flower woman probably wouldn't catch that he was joking. Roy knew how hard Olivier's job was. That woman deserved her rank more than almost anyone.

The woman stayed quiet until she added a few more bouquets to his backseat.

"At first it was just steady skirmishes, like the ones out east. They were all normal day-to-day events. Then unusual things started to happen, mainly when Kimbley and Raven showed up. Some sort of biological monster sprang up from under the headquarters. Olivier suspects something more baleful is going on and they need to strengthen their offense. That's why Briggs is contacting you."

"I figured the troops at Briggs are more than capable enough to fight without the aid of the east army. General Armstrong certainly is conceited enough about her men."

"She would say the same of you." She added yet another half dozen bouquets.

"Touché."

"She hesitated to admit it, but her command has always been more focused on defense. They need a strong offense and she said the east army was the best of the best."

"It's the truth on both counts. East army used to do training exercises with the north and their defense was impenetrable."

"I heard only two people ever got past them, both of them were women."

"Yes, one of them was Lieutenant Hawkeye," Roy said then chuckled. The lieutenant was sitting in the general's office when the training session was over. That was the only time he'd ever seen Olivier Armstrong dumbfounded. She'd kept Riza with her for several hours asking where she entered and about any other vulnerable places a sniper's eye would catch. After that, she offered Hawkeye various positions at Briggs after every training session.

"Combining the two armies would be a lethal combination."

"I'm honored that General Armstrong chose to ally with me out of all the other possibilities."

"She isn't really fond of allying with you. She just wants the army and will put up with you to get it. I believe her words were, 'Mustang can go to hell for all I care'."

He shrugged. "Should've expected that. How much do I owe you?"

When the lady placed the last bouquet in his car, she said, "Regular price for the flowers, information free of charge."

"How many bouquets am I buying exactly?"

"Thirty seven."

He removed his wallet, glanced at her prices, and did the calculations in his head before handing her the correct amount. It was cheaper than what he paid his other informants.

She tucked the money away, not bothering to count it beforehand.

"Tell me. . . What would she do if I gave this information to the president to save my family and myself?"

"Oh, she brought that up when another subordinate mentioned it."

"What did she say?" He prepared himself for another insult.

"She said it was impossible and that Mustang can be an idiot, but he's not that kind of man."

"I guess that's something I can be honored about." He never imagined that Olivier Armstrong would have a place in his plans, unintentional or not.

"And she said Hawkeye would beat you to death if you did."

"That's true as well."

The woman chuckled and moved to leave.

"Hey! Who are you exactly anyway? You sell flowers too cheap to be a real florist."

"And how would you know about the price of flowers?"

"I lied about my wife. She likes daisies and lilies."

The woman winked and before she left, said, "I won't tell you my name, but I've been serving the Armstrong line for generations when it comes to their floral needs."

He kept his focus on her until she left his sight, and then glanced back at the car full of flowers. It was as if she planned to sell him so many when it was safe to assume he'd have limited places and people to give them to. He wouldn't put it past Olivier Armstrong to concoct such a prank. Riza wasn't going to be happy but since she was working late that night, he'd have the flowers in the apartment before she got there. If he spaced them around maybe they wouldn't look as numerous.

"I heard you went beyond the call of duty when it came to women, but I didn't think you took it to such an extent."

That voice. It belonged to a person who annoyed him on an Olivier Armstrong level, and he was the last person Roy wanted to see right now. "I thought you left town, Carnell."

"I finished my business elsewhere. Central is my hometown so why wouldn't I come back?" He motioned toward the flowers. "I know Riza likes some flowers, but I don't think she'd appreciate being drowned in them."

"I don't appreciate it either," Roy muttered.

Edmund leaned against the car. "What was the punishment?"

Roy looked at him from the corner of his eye. Edmund must have some kind of motive for walking over here and starting a conversation. If it was to conjure a friendship, he had a long way to go to attain one. "Punishment for?"

"I saw the paper. It said she was transferred."

"She was."

"And I'm betting you got off scot free. Everyone take the punishment for yo—"

"Don't speak to me with a tone like that. You know nothing and I've been tolerant with your questions, among other things. My punishment was a fuehrer appointed team watching my every move."

"Why the other team members? If she's transferred the chain of command isn't compromised."

He refrained from saying it wasn't compromised before and no one had any complaints of such for years. "You aren't naïve enough to believe her transfer was only for a discovered marriage."

"Well at least you can still stay together. Unless she was transferred to a different city. The fuehrer was rather lenient."

Talking to this man was infuriating, all he wanted to do was get in his car and drive away, but reason overpowered his stubborn, jealous streak. Edmund should know this. He was a veteran of Ishbal, and Riza trusted him. "My subordinates were transferred out of my command and sent to different cities. Riza is still in Central."

"Well, that's good."

"She's a hostage," Roy snapped. "She's working as the fuehrer's aide. He's our enemy now."

"Now? Considering your aspirations, I figured he's always been an enemy."

"What do you know about my aspirations?"

"Riza told me a few things."

Roy leaned closer. "Bradley is the enemy because he's a homunculus."

Edmund let out a loud laugh. "That's a good one, Mustang," Edmund said but his face faltered when he saw no joking expression on Roy's face. "You're serious."

"I do not joke about shit like that."

"You mean we've been working for—"

"They were using us in Ishbal as pawns for their plans."

Roy recognized the haunted look that passed through his eyes. "Anything you need for your mission, you got it. Weapons, ammo, anything."

"I'll remember that, but I've told you what I want. If something happens to me, take care of her."

"Deal."

Roy reached for one of the bouquets. "And take some of these flowers."

A couple walked by, stopped, and looked at the two. When Edmund and Roy returned the looks, the couple hurried away. Both men looked at the bouquet, then each other.

"Not on your life. Put that thing down before people get the wrong idea."

"That's right fellas! Stick it to the man!" a man yelled. Roy tossed the bouquet back into the car and cringed at the double entendre.

"Damn it."

Edmund reached into his pocket and took out a card and pen. He scribbled something on the back of the card before handing it to Roy. "My office phone is on the front and home phone is on the back. I want to destroy Bradley."

"At least we agree on that."

Edmund nodded. "I must be going now. Tell Riza I said hello." He started to leave, and Roy decided there was a chance he wasn't going to miss. He'd resisted the desire for far too long.

"Edmund?"

The man turned in his direction. Roy motioned for him to come closer then threw a punch at his face, nearly knocking him off his feet. He jerked back toward Roy but didn't try to return the hit. "Why in the hell did you do that?"

"That's for kissing Riza. If you touch her again, I'll make you combust from the inside out."

"I thought only Kimbley could do that."

Roy's voice lowered. "I'm well aware of how to do it."

Edmund rubbed his jaw. "I wasn't expecting you to have a great hook. He exhaled and laughed. "Don't worry, I respect her decision. That kiss was completely at the spur of the moment. It won't happen again . . . unless she wants it."

"And you'd take another man's wife."

"No, I would help a woman get out of a marriage she didn't want, but Riza's with you for the long haul. I still want her as a friend, and I refuse to give that up." He was still rubbing his jaw when he walked away.

Roy begrudgingly held a new regard for him. Even though he knew Edmund was in love with Riza, he had to respect anyone strong enough to give up a woman like her.

He'd never be able to do it.

* * *

**AN: Long time, but I'm not dead. Almost but not quite. Long story short. These past few months I've been on hiatus have been horrible. I've been sick to the point I'm sick of doctors (they've figured out what was wrong, it's nothing horribly life threatening). I was harassed a lot on here via anon reviews so I needed a break from that. A relative committed suicide after a terminal cancer diagnosis and my godchild passed away after an accident, and dealing with other things I'm not comfortable speaking about with anyone. As always, my outlet is writing and I'm pushing through. Thank you for waiting for a long time. **

**The next chapter won't be nearly as long of a wait. **

**Much Love, MSD **


	113. Grab, Cut, Click

**Best Kept Secret **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 113: Grab, Cut, Click **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and this fiction is written only as an expression of dedication to this pairing and fandom. It's a noncommercial work and not a product of the original owners. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. **

* * *

"Are you armed?"

Those words nearly made Riza laugh in the guard's face. _Logic must not be part of the job requirement._ "I'm the fuehrer's chief aid, a sharpshooter, dressed in uniform, and coming here from the office, so of course I'm armed."

"Please place your guns here before you enter the home," one of the guards said and pointed to a metal tray."

"Very well," she said. She felt uneasy leaving her weapons, and tried not to be caustic toward the men—they were only doing their jobs. But it was late, she had so much on her mind, and she felt periodic jabs of pain come from a homunculi approaching, which she'd expected the moment she walked onto this property. When she placed her guns in the tray, the guards opened the door for her.

As she made her way down the long walkway where the man directed her, she took out one of her pain pills, put it in her mouth, and swallowed it. She felt it lump in her throat for a few seconds before it descended. When she was around the fuehrer, the pain was rarely severe enough to warrant the medicine, but tonight (perhaps it was the weather or her nerves about being on his personal turf) felt off.

By the time she arrived at the door to the main living area, her pain had eased. Since the medicine hadn't had time to kick in, she chalked the aches up to anxiety, but deep down, she knew there was something else causing it. Her thoughts were at war with each other, shooting off canons of different scenarios and excuses, and making sure her thoughts were as scattered as possible.

A butler greeted her after a short wait. The guards had called ahead of time to tell him she was coming, so he wordlessly let her enter.

The moment she stepped on the red carpet in the home, she exhaled to make herself relax.

The high ceilings made the room appear to be larger (space wise) than it was. The white walls gave the impression of goodness and purity. The furniture was at ease and comfortable. The fuehrer was none of those things. His entire house was a contradiction. An illusion to put forth to his people that he deserved their love.

"May I help you with something?"

Riza expected a maid but it was an older woman. The fuehrer's wife. She descended the steps with such a practiced elegance that Riza felt inferior to her almost immediately. The woman's smile spoke of kindness, and her clothing was not typical of someone arrogant. She wore a nightgown of pale blue cotton and had an intricate shawl made of wool draped around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry for intruding on your evening, ma'am. I'm the fuehrer's personal aid, Lieutenant Haw… Mustang." Her back pulsed and she began chanting the meditation chant she learned in some old Xingese documents Roy had.

"Oh, you're the one then," she said and approached closer.

"The one, ma'am?"

"Married to the flame alchemist."

Riza held back a sigh. Though happy to be married to him, she was her own person, not just Roy's wife. Lately she'd been getting the "Mustang's wife" comments a little too often. "Yes, ma'am."

"My husband talked about you. He was so torn on the issue."

_I'll bet,_ Riza thought as she took the woman's offered hand and shook it.

"Personally I think the fraternizations laws should be altered a bit, but I'm very happy you two weren't discharged just because you were in love and married."

Riza nodded, only half hearing the woman's words because the pain in her back had grown intense within seconds and bile rose in her throat. Was she one of them?

"I've"—she swallowed—"brought papers from the office that are urgent for him to see as soon as possible." Her voice almost cracked with the last word. It was close. Something was so close she felt the hairs rise on her arm. "I have to make sure he looks over these by tomorrow morning."

"He isn't here right now, but I'll make sure he looks at these as soon as he gets back," she said and took the papers from Riza.

Her hands shook as she lowered her arms and her tattoo stung almost as painfully as when Roy burned her back. Usually it ebbed, but now it was ceaseless. It was never this bad with the fuehrer. She studied the woman in front of her, focusing on the lines of her face and the kind smile on her lips. Smiles hid malevolent intentions; she'd learned that long ago. First from her father and then from generals in Ishbal. Heartburn irrupted deep within her chest, and she wished she'd taken one of the anti-acids that Knox gave her. "Thank you," she managed to say.

She almost staggered forward when she felt a presence creep behind her. The sickness wasn't coming from the first lady, it was—she whipped around to see a little boy staring up at her. Her eyes met his and her stomach almost lost its contents. His eyes were deep and dark, but not expressive like Roy's gaze. They were a vacuous pit where no amount of guilt would build up to the point he'd display remorse. It would be more accurate to compare him with a demon rather than a child. She felt the presence of the homunculi rolling off him, and blamed her stronger than usual nausea on the disgust she felt over the use of a child as a vessel for one of them.

"Hi," he said with a well-practiced, innocent voice. His smile gave her the shivers and his eyes glistened in the light; he was the perfect persona of an angelic little boy for anyone that couldn't read into people. Regardless of whether he was an homunculi, she would've seen the evil beyond the mask of angelic fraud. "I heard the door open and thought father had come home."

"Selim, this is Lieutenant Mustang, your father's aide."

His eyes widened. "You're the flame alchemist's wife? Does he ever use his alchemy at home? Like to light candles and fireplaces and stuff?"

"Fireplaces on occasion," she answered for him just as she would a normal child.

"Wow, that's so cool. But you save lots of money on matches."

Riza faked a laugh.

"It's time for bed, Master Selim," the butler said. "Otherwise, you'll oversleep tomorrow."

"Okay," he said.

The tension in her back eased as he walked away. She looked back at Missus Bradley when the woman spoke, "Selim really loves his father and all things military. I think he'll end up as a soldier."

_Don't bet on it._ "You're son is very . . . bright."

"Yes, he is. If he were our birth son I would be criticized for being so proud, but since he's adopted from a family member I can be as proud as I want." She laughed. "I'm just kidding of course."

Adopted? "I assume he gets his outgoingness from your side of the family?" She asked this question because she wanted more information on Selim, and to know if Missus Bradley's family was an issue they'd have to pay attention to.

"Mine? Oh no. I wish my family were more like Selim, but he's my husband's distant relative."

Riza kept her face expressionless. It wouldn't do to upset the woman or have her question why she looked a specific way. "I see."

"Would you like to wait for my husband here? I can get some hot tea for you since it's so cold."

She was still uncomfortable due to Selim's proximity and she didn't want to become fond of the fuehrer's wife because of what she might have to do to Bradley. The woman clearly loved him. "I'm afraid I have to be going. I still have a bit of work to do."

"Oh, that's too bad," she said in a way that almost made Riza want to stay. "Very well then." She guided Riza to the door. "Be careful on your way back. Though, I'm sure you can take care of yourself."

"I will. Thank you. Have a good night."

**-/-/-**

She felt somewhat better once she exited the area and had her guns back in their proper place. She turned the corner and nodded to the last round of house security before heading outside and down the covered walkway that led to the main gates.

The crickets should've been out in full force during this time of year and screeching bats weren't an uncommon sound in this part of the city, but this environment was dead and enshrouded in a seemingly never-ending moment of silence. Rocks jutted up from the ground in weird shapes, on each side of the walkway like the make shift tombstones she made a few times to bury a dead person in Ishbal, and a nighttime fog drifted off the Koi ponds set up in the garden even though the weather wasn't suited to causing the phenomenon.

A wind hit her but the wind chimes set up periodically along the walk made no sounds. She reached up to rub her throat as she reached into her pocket to retrieve the antacids she carried. She took one and the acid in her throat eased.

Regret filled her when she directed her focus ahead and saw a statue of a weeping woman holding an infant. She was surrounding by fog which, for a moment, turned into blood drifting around her. Riza shook her head of the memory threatening to attack her, and appreciated the craftsmanship of the statue itself even though she knew that wasn't the reason Bradley kept it there. If he was really "Bradley." She wondered if there was any humanity left within Bradley, or if he'd had been inhuman for so long that side of him died.

Roy said Bradley had been an experiment; word was that he was raised in the countryside but more than likely he always lived in isolation in some secret location until he was created. Her brows furrowed. Her grandfather was working for the military during that time. It was possible that he found out what Bradley was and they killed him. She didn't believe Bradley was telling the truth when it came to how he knew her father, so maybe he knew her father through her grandfather. Her father would be around Bradley's age right now, if he were alive.

She groaned and stumbled forward, grabbing onto a pillar as her legs faltered. Her entire body heated up as if she'd just jumped into a steaming hot shower. It never hurt this bad even without pain pills. Her hand resting against the pillar made a fist and she pushed herself off so she stood upright. Unsure of how long she could stand on her own she took out her pills and swallowed another one.

Sometimes she was tempted to take the entire bottle (she wouldn't of course). Knox told her to limit the pills to three per day. Fortunately, she didn't need them that often. The meditation helped and the pain around Bradley had never been as potent as it was around the others.

"So," a young voice said, "have you figured out who I am?" Every syllable made her stomach jerk and she felt cold radiating from inside out. Two footsteps tore through the silence like the moans of the grieving.

"You're Selim Bradley. Fuehrer Bradley's son."

"Don't play stupid. My mother can be such a chatterbox with people and she didn't take exception with you."

"I felt a presence like yours before, so it's not your mother's fault. Gluttony had the same feeling about him." She crept further away from the pillar, determined not to show weakness in front of him. "I know what you are, but I don't know which one you are."

When he laughed, the sound was loud enough she wondered if the others would come to see what was going on. Her shins ached from keeping her legs stiff so they wouldn't shake.

"It's very bold of you to question my identity."

Riza almost doubled over when she heard another footstep. Her mind was torn between grabbing her stomach or her gun, but she chose to keep still. Bullets couldn't do anything to the monster anyway. "It's very wise of you to not go for your weapon. I'll chalk that up to your common sense rather than your training. You were trained to be a murderer after all."

He knew just where to hit emotionally. Now, it was a matter of time when he'd hit physically.

As if reading her mind, he said, "I don't think I'll lay a finger on you as long as you keep quiet about our meeting. I can't have people knowing my secret. I know you understand that since you know a lot about secrets."

His presence bore down on her in the way hands would try to push her down onto the concrete. He drew out fear reminisce of first time she'd come under fire in Ishbal.

"Isn't that kind of you," she said.

"I'm unique."

"Tell me, are you more like gluttony or Bradley? You feel different."

"I'm offended you'd compare me to Gluttony of all things. I'm far superior." He stepped into the light, revealing half his face. In the dark, his eyes glowed like cat's eyes. "I'm the first homunculus. They call me Pride."

"What do you mean by first?'

"I mean exactly what I said. I'm the first. Nothing more, nothing less." She heard the amusement in his voice. "You're so brave lieutenant. I can see why Mustang treasures you so much. You're trying to draw as much information out of me as possible. Like you tried with my dear mother."

"You caught that?" she said and added a sardonic chuckle at the end.

"And no running. Very impressive. I don't suppose you'd ever consider joining with us. The benefits will outweigh the negatives."

"Outweigh the negatives? I can only think… of negatives." She gritted her teeth as a press of weight hit her then released as quickly as it came. "I've seen what you do with your pawns. Not much job security when working with you."

"You possess a rather dark sense of humor as well. Shame you won't join us." His voice grew lower and a growl followed each of the words he spoke next. A diabolical tone fitting for a sinister environment. "Such a shame."

Long streams of tentacle-like dark matter encircled her neck and body. It jerked her arms down and pressed them against her sides like rope. The matter around her neck tightened and breathing became her most desired ability. "You—" That was all she could say. The tentacle loosened.

She caught her breath. "You said you…wouldn't lay a finger on me." She took in another breath.

He laughed and she felt a sharp prick on her cheek. "These aren't…" One of the other tentacles, she realized there were more than two of them. "Fingers!" She released a grunt of pain and something ran into her eyes and down the side of her face. The liquid dripped to the corner of her lips and she recognized the taste. Water ran from the corner of her eyes, trying to cleanse the blood out of them.

A tentacle crept under her coat and around her back. She heard the button on her holster snap and felt it move as her gun lifted from it. He held it up and the tentacle around her neck tightened.

The blood obscured her vision, but she could make out the gun as he dangled it in front of her, taunting her like a schoolboy did when he stole a girl's toy.

"I can fire one of these you know, and no one would hear you make a noise."

Her hand opened in a claw like position as he tightened his grip on every part of her body. The black arm extended around the gun's grip, lifting it into a firing position. Her muscles stiffened and her skin prickled in parts where it felt as if someone was shoving metal braces against her bones to keep her tense.

She felt the cold barrel press against her temple.

The safety clicked off . . .

* * *

**AN: I really wanted to expand on this scene because Selim creeps me out. Anyone ever notice how much Pride looks like Damen from The Omen? If you aren't familiar with him, google 2006 Damen Omen. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


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